New Delhi:
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP are in a close contest as the counting of votes began this morning for the Delhi Assembly elections. The AAP has asserted it will return to power and Arvind Kejriwal will become the chief minister for the fourth time. But its top leaders, including Mr Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Chief Minister Atishi, are trailing from their respective seats, suggest early trends.
Mr Kejriwal, who is contesting from the New Delhi assembly constituency, is trailing the BJP’s Parvesh Verma, while his close aid Mr Sisodia, former education minister of Delhi, is trailing from Jangpura. Atishi is also trailing the BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri from Kalkaji.
AAP’s Amanatullah Khan, a two-time MLA from Okhla, is trailing from his seat.
Delhi minister Gopal Rai and AAP Satyendar Jain, who is out on bail in a money laundering case, are leading from Babarpur and Shakur Basti respectively.
Avadh Ojha, the IAS exam coach who joined the AAP ahead of the elections, is trailing from Patparganj, the former seat of Mr Sisodia. Durgesh Pathak, AAP candidate from Rajinder Nagar, is also trailing. AAP’s Somnath Bharti is also trailing.
Delhi voted on February 5 to elect its members to the 70-seat assembly with the AAP showcasing its ‘Delhi model’ of governance to counter the BJP’s corruption allegations in an aggressive campaign.
Chief Minister Atishi said this morning the AAP will return to power and called the election a battle between good and evil. Her cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj said the AAP will win at least 40-45 seats. In the
