No space for corruption, lies in politics: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday termed the BJP’s win in the Delhi Assembly elections historic and asserted that the mandate had made it clear that there was no space for “corruption and lies” in politics.

The BJP won 48 of the 70 seats, ending its 27-year zinx in Delhi, while AAP won the remaining 22 seats. The Congress repeated its dismal performance of the last elections by drawing a blank.

Launching a scathing attack on both INDIA bloc members — AAP and the Congress — the PM said the country needed a serious political transformation and not politics of “dhoort-ta (deceit) and moorkhta (foolishness)”, adding that the people of Delhi had “short-circuited the politics of shortcuts”.

“People of Delhi today have enthusiasm and satisfaction. There is relief in liberating Delhi from ‘AAP-da’. I thank all Delhiites for entrusting their faith in ‘Modi ki guarantee’,” the Prime Minister said while addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters.

He said Delhiites were celebrating the BJP’s victory and respite from ‘AAP-da’, a term he used throughout the campaign to criticise the AAP rule.

“Now, Delhi’s double-engine government will ensure development at double speed. It is a historic win and not a usual victory as the people of Delhi have shown the door to ‘AAP-da’. Delhi has become Aap-da-mukt,” Modi said.

Hitting out at both AAP and the Congress, the PM said the grand old party was not as it used to be post-Independence as it was indulging in the “politics of urban Naxals”.

“These people are giving themselves the gold medal in defeat. The truth is that the country is not willing to trust the Congress. I had said the last time that the Congress has become a parasitic party. It drowns and takes down its allies with it,” he said.

Attacking the Congress, Modi said, “After 2014, party leaders tried to become Hindu by visiting temples, wearing malas. They thought that they would be able to dent the BJP’s vote bank. You would have seen that they have now stopped that as they realised that it is BJP’s domain. So, now they have their eyes on these regional parties, to feed off them. Members of the INDI Alliance have started to realise that the Congress is trying to take back the vote bank these parties had won.”

“The country needs a serious political transformation, ‘viksit Bharat’ needs new energy, 21st century politics needs new ideas,” he said urging the youth to enter politics.

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False promises can’t mislead people

Delhi would become an ideal capital under PM Modi’s leadership. Residents of Delhi have shown that repeated false promises cannot mislead people. — Amit Shah, Home Minister

AAP drowned due to liquor policy

The AAP drowned due to the liquor policy and its focus on money. A candidate's character should be clean and he should know the virtues of sacrifice. — Anna Hazare, Anti-graft activist

Fight against BJP will continue

I want to thank the people of the Kalkaji Assembly for placing their trust in me. This is not a time for victory; this is a time for battle and the fight against BJP will continue. — Atishi, Delhi’s outgoing Chief Minister

Poll nuggets

Highest margin in Matia Mahal, least in Sangam Vihar

AAP’s Aaley Mohammed Iqbal (58,120 votes) defeated BJP’s Deepti Indora from Matia Mahal seat by 42,724 votes, the highest margin in the elections. The next was Seelampur where AAP's Choudhary Zubair Ahmad (79,009) defeated BJP’s Anil Kumar Sharma by 42,477 votes. The narrowest margin was in Sangam Vihar where BJP's Chandan Kumar Choudhary (54,049) defeated AAP’s Dinesh Mohaniya by 344 votes. The next was Trilokpuri where BJP’s Ravi Kant defeated AAP’s Anjana Parcha by 392 votes. Thirteen seats were decided by a margin of less than 5,000 votes.

Left parties together poll fewer votes than NOTA

Left parties, which came together to contest six seats in the Delhi Assembly polls, polled fewer votes than NOTA in all the segments, failing to make any dent. In the six seats, the Left parties together polled 2,158 votes, while NOTA got 5,627. In Karawal Nagar, one of the areas worst affected by the 2020 Delhi riots, the CPM had fielded well-known RTI activist and lawyer Ashok Agarwal, who got only 457 votes, while 709 votes went to NOTA.

Lone transgender candidate gets 85 votes in Kalkaji

Rajan Singh, the lone transgender candidate in the Delhi Assembly elections, secured 85 votes from the Kalkaji constituency, while 556 people opted for NOTA, according to Election Commission data. Singh (27) contested on an Aam Janta Party (India) ticket where AAP leader and Chief Minister Atishi won the election, defeating BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri by a margin of 3,521 votes. Kalkaji had a total of 13 candidates.

AIMIM nominees relegate Congress to fourth slot

The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which contested only two seats in the Delhi Assembly elections, managed to make its presence felt, with both of its candidates emerging as second runners-up. Both Shifa Ur Rehman Khan (Okhla seat) and Tahir Hussain (Mustafabad), accused in the 2020 Delhi riots and currently in jail, cut into the BJP and AAP’s vote share and performed better than Congress, which was relegated to fourth place.

‘Those who harm women...’: Maliwal takes on AAP

Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal targeted the Aam Aadmi Party over its poor performance in the elections saying “God punished those who commited crime against women”. Maliwal’s remarks are a veiled reference to the assault case wherein she accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s personal aide Bibhav Kumar of “assaulting her at the then Chief Minister’s residence”.