New Delhi, Feb 8: Avadh Ojha, AAP’s candidate from the Patparganj constituency said he is happy with the second position in the keenly contested election.

Patparganj, once a stronghold of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, has shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in this Assembly elections. BJP candidate Ravinder Singh Negi (Ravi Negi) secured a decisive victory over AAP’s Avadh Ojha, winning by a margin of over 21,000 votes.

Ojha, a first-time candidate and popular online educator-turned-politician, expressed optimism despite the defeat.

Speaking to media, he remarked, “Winning or losing is nothing. This was my first political innings, and I secured the second position. I am very happy with this achievement.”

After nine rounds of the 14-round counting process, Negi had polled 69,104 votes, maintaining a decisive lead over Ojha. Congress candidate Anil Kumar trailed far behind in third place.

Addressing his loss, Ojha acknowledged the voters’ decision and suggested that a change in leadership was likely a factor. “Perhaps the public felt it was time for a change after a long time. They might have wanted to give another party a chance. There is no question of any shortcomings on our part,” he stated.

Despite the defeat, Ojha remains determined to stay in the political arena. “We are heading to Patparganj now. First, I will meet my supporters, then from tomorrow, we will plan our next strategy and hit the ground again,” he affirmed.

Patparganj had been a bastion for AAP, with senior leader Manish Sisodia holding the seat for two consecutive terms before his arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case. However, in this election, BJP managed to turn the tide, marking a significant political shift in the constituency.

New Delhi, Feb 8: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed the majority mark as per latest trends of Delhi Assembly election results. Trends till 12:45 PM showed that the BJP secured 48 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stood at 22 seats.

These developments have ignited a veritable meme fest on social media, with internet users taking playful jabs at Arvind Kejriwal’s APP and the Congress.

One X user shared a meme depicting contestants ready for a race, with the BJP and AAP positioned toward the finish line while Congress is humorously shown heading in the opposite direction — a sarcastic commentary on Congress’ absence from the lead.

Adding to the humour, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) took to X, posting, “According to sources Bhagwant Mann Singh has blocked the phone number of Arvind Kejriwal.”

The meme parade continued with another image featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal inside a wrestling ring, where Kejriwal is shown taking a severe beating at the hands of the Prime Minister.

In a further display of satire, a meme circulated showing a recent video of SP MP Awadhesh Prasad sobbing, with the caption referring to him as “Arvind Kejriwal after seeing Delhi Election Result.”

Another video clip portrays him crying as he views the election results, emphasising that the AAP has not even managed to touch the halfway mark.

Yet another meme depicts Delhi voters fervently hyping the BJP while illustrating the AAP struggling to stay afloat and the Congress figuratively underwater.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also joined in on the social media banter by taking a swipe at the INDIA bloc — particularly Congress and the AAP — after early leads suggested a sweeping victory for the BJP in Delhi.

In a social media post, he quipped, “aur lado aapas mein” (fight each other some more).

The jest continued with a meme showing Congress Minister Rahul Gandhi checking the number of zeroes, a pointed dig at his party for failing to secure even a single seat.

One X user compared former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to cricketer Virat Kohli, humorously portraying him as wiping away tears. Kejriwal, contesting from the New Delhi constituency, is locked in a three-cornered fight against BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit, and is currently trailing.

The overall contest in Delhi appears increasingly to be a battle between just two parties — AAP and BJP. In one meme, Kejriwal is seen declaring, “Desh mein Modi ki koi hawa nahin hai!!” (There is no Modi wave in the country), only for Prime Minister Modi to retort humorously by urging Kejriwal to remove his muffler and feel the air.

Another meme takes a dig at the former Chief Minister’s renovated residence, referred to as ‘Sheesh Mahal,’ with a caption reading, “Utho Sunita, Sheesh Mahal khaali karne ka waqt aa gaya hai.”

A viral video shows two young girls dancing in a manner that has been compared to Swati Maliwal and Bansuri Swaraj celebrating Kejriwal’s fall, while yet another meme features Game of Thrones’ Khalisi — likened to Swati Maliwal — laughing as the AAP government appears to burn behind her.

The single-phase Delhi Assembly elections were held on February 5, and votes are being counted at the moment. Today’s results will determine whether Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP will return to power for a fourth term or if the BJP will make a significant comeback in the national capital.

Currently, top AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain, are in the fray, while BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri and Kailash Gahlot have taken clear leads.

New Delhi, Feb 8: After tight fights, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia lost from the New Delhi and Jangpura Assembly constituencies respectively, on a day which saw the ruling party’s rout in the city.

Talking to mediapersons, Sisodia congratulated Tarvinder Singh Marwah of the BJP and conceded defeat. In the last round of counting, Sisodia was trailing by 572 votes.

After beating Kejriwal, BJP’s Parvesh Verma spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone. His victory margin over Kejriwal was almost equal to the nearly 3,000 votes garnered by Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit.

The BJP leaders remained tightlipped about its Chief Ministerial candidate after the party achieved a majority with over 45 seats in a 70-member Assembly which has 36 as the majority mark.

Sisodia, described as the brain behind the AAP’s education revolution, had shifted to the Jangpura seat from Patparganj from where he had won the 2020 election.

Earlier, as the Election Commission trends indicated a BJP majority in the Delhi Assembly elections on Saturday, a pall of gloom descended over the AAP’s office while celebrations broke out at the BJP headquarters.

Other AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Saurabh Bharadwaj were also trailing.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Atishi exuded confidence in the AAP’s return to power and called the election a battle between good and evil, while Bharadwaj predicted that the AAP would win at least 40-45 seats.

Reacting to the trends, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said: “We can see the blessings of the people of Delhi. We are confident that the tally will remain the same till the end.”

An off-shoot of an anti-corruption campaign of Anna Hazare in 2011, ‘Brand Kejriwal’ proved to be fourth time unlucky after winning three successive Delhi Assembly elections.

The AAP’s fourth attempt at capturing the ‘Dilli Darbar’ failed amid a strong anti-incumbency, poor performance of MLAs, and the party chief’s growing faith in turncoats from other parties.