‘We respect people’s mandate, hope BJP will fulfil promises’: Kejriwal

As the counting progressed and cemented the BJP’s position in the city on Saturday, Kejriwal was conspicuous by his absence

New Delhi

In his recorded address, Kejriwal said, “We did a lot of work in the field of health, education, water and power in the last 10 years”. (ANI X)

After conceding defeat from the New Delhi constituency to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Parvesh Singh Verma, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal posted a two-minute address on X (formerly Twitter) in the afternoon, congratulating the BJP for winning the polls to form the government in Delhi.

“We accept the mandate of the people with great humility. I congratulate the Bharatiya Janata Party for this victory, and I hope they will fulfil all the promises for which people have voted them,” said Kejriwal, who led a months-long fiery campaign against the BJP.

As the counting progressed and cemented the BJP’s position in the city on Saturday, Kejriwal was conspicuous by his absence.

The AAP headquarters wore a deserted look nearly throughout the day.

It quickly became apparent that the AAP’s top leadership was crumbling from their strongholds, one by one—Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Somnath Bharti all lost their seats.

An AAP leader, who asked not to be named, told HT: “The result has been shocking. The party did expect to lose some seats, but we did not think that we lose the election altogether.”

In his recorded address, Kejriwal said, “We did a lot of work in the field of health, education, water and power in the last 10 years. We tried to improve infrastructure in the city. Not only will we play the role of a constructive opposition but will also remain among the people and continue to serve them.”

From 67 of 70 seats in 2015 to 62 seats in the 2020 assembly elections, the AAP won in only 22 assembly constituencies this time. Among those who won from the AAP was chief minister Atishi from Kalkaji, in a tight contest against BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri.

Even as her supporters celebrated at the Maharani Bagh counting booth, she said, “I won my seat, but this is not time to celebrate... The war against the BJP will continue. We accept the people’s mandate.”

Apart from Atishi, AAP leader Gopal Rai won for the fourth time from Baburpur, Amanatullah Khan from Okhla for the third time, and Imran Hussain from Ballimaran for the third time.

Kejriwal concluded in his address, “We are not in politics for power, we look at politics as a way to serve people... We will continue that work. I want to congratulate all workers of the AAP. They fought well, they worked very hard, and they dealt with a lot this election.”

The mood at the AAP headquarters near Mandi House was markedly ominous, with an eerie silence and quiet among party workers, as they watched the trends trickle in. The party had set up two giant screens for supporters and members to watch the trends, but by noon, the site was empty as most chose to leave.

The gate of the party’s office was shut and only those with passes issued by the party were allowed in. A man at the gate said he had instructions from the leadership to keep the main gate closed.

In the afternoon, the crowds moved towards Kejriwal’s residence, which is located close by. Security was tightened as senior leaders started arriving, with mediapersons in close tow.