Guwahati: Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, hailed his party’s victory in the Rajinder Nagar Assembly byelection as a victory over the BJP’s “dirty politics” and praised voters for recognising the accomplishments of his party’s administration in the nation’s capital. According to election officials, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Durgesh Pathak defeated the BJP’s Rajesh Bhatia on Sunday by a margin of more than 11,000 votes.
“There have been 16 rounds of counting. Durgesh Pathak, an AAP candidate, defeated Rajesh Bhatia, a BJP candidate, by a margin of more than 11,000 votes “Ranbir Singh, the chief electoral officer for Delhi, said.
Thanking the people, Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi, “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Rajendra Nagar. I am grateful for this immense affection and love of the people of Delhi. This inspires us to work harder and serve.”
“People defeated their dirty politics and appreciated our good work. Thank you, Rajendra Nagar, thank you Delhi,” he added.
Congratulatory messages started flooding in as Pathak advanced toward winning the seat with a healthy margin. Senior AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia stated that the poll results demonstrate that Kejriwal is a popular figure.
“Many many congratulations to my dear brother @ipathak25 (Durgesh Pathak) on being elected MLA from Rajendra Nagar Vidhan Sabha. Congratulations to all the workers of AAP for the victory,” Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.
“In the heart of the people of Delhi, @ArvindKejriwal ji lives,” he added.
Official results show that Pathak of the AAP received 40,319 votes, while Bhatia, his closest competitor, received only 28,851. 11,468 votes were needed to win.
Prem Lata, a candidate for Congress, received only 2,014 votes in the byelection.
The poll panel has not yet released the final voting results.
On June 23, a byelection for the important assembly seat was held, with a low turnout of 43.75 percent. Fourteen candidates entered the race, which is generally considered as a contest between the resolute AAP and the determined BJP.
Vote counting had started at 8 am among strict security measures.