70-member New Delhi Legislative Assembly will have 16 first-time MLAs, all from Aam Aadmi Party 

New Delhi:  The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scored a landslide victory in Delhi Assembly elections for the second time in a row as it swept aside both BJP, which was again restricted to a sing le digit, and Congress which could not win a single seat.

AAP won 62 seats in the 70-member Assembly, five seats short of its 2015 tally when it had won 67 seats. The BJP won eight seats, five more than its tally in the previous election. The Congress, which had failed to win a seat in the last election also, saw a dip in its vote percentage.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal will take oath on Feb. 16 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. “This is a win for Mother India,” Kejriwal told his supporters at a road show. He waved and blew them kisses, and said he “loved the people of Delhi”. Prominent faces Manish Sisodia, Raghav Chadha, Atishi, Gopal Rai and Arvind Kejriwal emerged victorious from their respective constituencies. 

AAP’s victory came in the backdrop of a campaign marked by shrillness and dashed BJP’s hopes to form government in the national capital after nearly two decades. The victory, which has raised political stature of Kejriwal, saw BJP raking up Citizenship Amendment Act and the protest at Shaheen Bagh against the legislation which has been continuing for the past over 50 days.

AAP, which had won 54.34 per cent votes in 2015, came close to its past performance and secured 53.57 per cent votes. Arvind Kejriwal will meet Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal today.  The New Delhi Legislative Assembly will have 16 first-time MLAs, all from the Aam Aadmi Party, including Atishi Marlena, Raghav Chadha and Dilip Pandey.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal will hold a meeting with the newly elected party MLAs at his residence tomorrow. Notably, the Aam Aadmi Party has emerged victorious on all the 12 seats reserved for SC candidates with the minimum victory margin being almost 12,000 votes.