New Delhi election result AAP will play role of constructive opposition,’ says Kejriwal after poll loss

AAP national convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal lost the New Delhi constituency seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma.According to the Election Commission’s data after 14 rounds of counting, Verma defeated Arvind Kejriwal by 4,089 votes. Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit won 4,568 votes.Meanwhile, the BJP has won 37 seats and is leading in 11 others out of the 70 assembly constituencies, crossing the majority mark to form a government in Delhi. AAP has won 17 seats and is ahead in five others. Congress has failed to secure a lead in any seat.The New Delhi constituency witnessed an intense electoral contest with key candidates including Arvind Kejriwal from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Sandeep Dikshit representing the Indian National Congress (INC). Counting of votes in the crucial constituency, along with 69 others for the Delhi Assembly election, began at 8 am.According to the Election Commission of India, the constituency recorded a voter turnout of 56.41 per cent. The outcome of this crucial seat will become clear as the votes are counted.The counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly elections is being held today, determining whether AAP secures a fourth consecutive term or if the BJP returns to power in the national capital after over 26 years.Key candidates (New Delhi constituency)- ResultArvind Kejriwal (AAP) – 25, 999votesParvesh Verma (BJP) – 30, 088 votesSandeep Dikshit (Congress) – 4,568 votesWho won the 2020 election?• In the 2020 Assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal secured victory for AAP by defeating BJP’s Sunil Kumar Yadav with a margin of 21,687 votes.• The New Delhi Assembly segment falls under the broader New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj won decisively in the 2024 general elections, defeating AAP’s Somnath Bharti by 78,370 votes.• Kejriwal had held this seat since 2013 when he made headlines by defeating Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit by over 25,000 votes. In 2015, he retained the seat with a lead of nearly 32,000 votes over BJP’s Nupur Sharma and Congress’ Kiran Walia.• Historically, Congress has won the seat four times since 1977, while AAP has emerged victorious three times.