Delhi assembly election: BJP's Kailash Gahlot, formerly with AAP, leads against Surender Bhardwaj in Bijwasan
Delhi assembly election: Kailash Gahlot won the Najafgarh seat for the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2015 and 2020 assembly polls.
Kailash Gahlot is currently leading against Surender Bhardwaj by 6685 votes in the Bijwasan constituency, show early trends.
Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kailash Gahlot, who resigned from the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in November 2024, is the saffron party's candidate from the Bijwasan assembly constituency in the Delhi assembly election, the polling for which was held on February 5.
Who is Kailash Gahlot? Political history
Gahlot, a Jat leader from Najafgarh in southwest Delhi, was a key member of the AAP. He held several crucial portfolios, including transport, during the second and third stints of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister of Delhi, and under party leader Atishi, who became chief minister following Kejriwal's abrupt resignation in September last year.
In the 2015 and 2020 Delhi assembly polls, which saw the AAP win 67 and 62 out of 70 seats, respectively, Kailash Gahlot contested from the Najafgarh constituency. He secured a narrow victory in 2015, winning 55,598 (34.62 per cent) votes, while Bharat Singh of the Indian National Lok Dal was second with 54,043 (33.65 per cent) votes.
On the other hand, in 2020, Gahlot increased his winning margin, clinching 81,507 (49.86 per cent) votes as against 75,276 (46.05 per cent) votes for Ajeet Singh Kharkhari of the BJP.
However, for the recent election, the BJP shifted Gahlot to the Bijwasan seat, which it won in 2008 and 2013, followed by victories for the AAP in 2015 and 2020. He is up against Surender Bharadwaj of the AAP and Congress' Devinder Sahrawat.
The counting of votes for all 70 seats will be held on February 8. The Aam Aadmi Party has governed the national capital, which is also a Union territory, since December 2013. Then contesting its maiden election, it came second to the BJP but ahead of the Congress, which had been in power here since 1998 with Sheila Dikshit as chief minister.
The AAP formed government with outside support of the Congress. Arvind Kejriwal succeeded Sheila Dikshit as the chief minister of Delhi.