New Delhi: Newcomer Aam Admi Party, born out of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption agitation, on Sunday created history by winning 28 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly election which saw BJP emerging as the single largest party and Congress suffering a rout with three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit even losing her own seat.
It is a hung House with BJP winning 31 seats, falling short of the majority mark of 36 despite its ally Shiromani Akali Dal getting one seat. Reduced to number three position, Congress bagged a paltry eight seats as many senior ministers and heavyweights failed to retain their constituencies in the election that saw massive anti-incumbency wave.
One seat each was secured by Janata Dal (U) and an independent. A visibly shaken Dikshit, who ruled Delhi for 15 years, sent her resignation to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung around noon as trends indicated a debacle from Congress in the hustings.
Also read - Live coverage of the Delhi Assembly polls
"We accept our defeat and we will analyse what went wrong. We respect what the people of Delhi have decided and thank them for supporting us for last 15 years," Dikshit told reporters at her residence during a brief appearance and even snapped when asked if her party failed to read the mood of the city.
"Bewakoof hain na (we are idiots, right?)", retorted Dikshit. The three-time Chief Minister herself lost to Arvind Kejriwal by a huge margin of 25,864 votes in the New Delhi constituency in a shocking defeat.
A number of Congress heavy-weights including cabinet ministers lost in the election as AAP, born following the civil society movement for Lokpal Bill led by Anna Hazare, made a strong dent into Congress' support base.
BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan thanked people of Delhi for giving the party the maximum number of seats. "I am confident that we will be able to serve the people of Delhi," he said, declining to take questions about the formation of next government.
Vardhan extended his wishes to Arvind Kejriwal of AAP and the outgoing Chief Minister. "I will congratulate Kejriwal on the good show of his party against expectations. I will also offer my thanks to Dikshit for serving Delhi for 15 years," he said.
Vardhan won from the Krishna Nagar constituency with a whopping margin of over 43,150 votes. In New Delhi constituency, Kejriwal pulled off a major upset against Dikshit, defeating her with a thumping margin of over 25,864 votes.
Making a brief appearance before party volunteers at his Hunuman Road office for the first time after the result was declared, he attributed his victory to the people of New Delhi Constituency.
"This is not my victory, it is a victory of people of New Delhi constituency and victory of democracy," he said, after defeating Dikshit. Asked whether he will seek support of Congress to form government, Kejriwal said, "We will play the role of a constructive opposition and will not seek support from any party to form the government."
Belying all claims of being a "non-actor or no factor" by Congress and BJP, Kejriwal was largely instrumental in snapping Dikshit's 15-year rule. Soft-spoken but a man with strong conviction, Kejriwal, a Ramon Magsaysay award winner, came into prominence from the agitation by 75-year-old Hazare in support of Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011.
"These are historic results. This is not a victory of Aam Admi Party, it is a victory of the people," he said amid loud cheers by his supporters at the crowded office.
The party had produced a separate manifesto for each constituency. The candidates were being screened for potential criminal backgrounds and the party claimed to have selected honest candidates.
Heavyweights who lost the polls included assembly Speaker Yoganand Shastri, Health and Family welfare minister A K Walia, Public Works Department Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Education minister Kiran Walia, Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami and Deputy Speaker Amrish Singh Gautam.
Two ministers, Arvinder Singh and Haroon Yusuf, retained their seats amid the Congress rout. Shastri came third in Mehrauli constituency where former Chief Minsiter Sahib Singh Verma's son Parvesh won.
Health Minister K Walia lost to AAP candidate Vinod Kumar Binny by a margin of 7,752 votes in Laxmi Nagar while Chauhan lost to AAP's Rakhi Birla by a margin of 10,585 votes in Mangolpuri.
Kiran Walia and Goswami came third in Malviya Nagar and Rajinder Nagar constituencies respectively. Gautam also finished third in Kondli constituency. The hung verdict in Delhi Assembly polls has raised intriguing questions about government formation in the national capital.
The options for BJP are to either stake claim to form the government or wait for Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to invite its leader Vardhan to do so as leader of the single largest party.
However, the catch is that the Lt Governor is likely to ask a BJP government, so invited, to prove its majority in the house within a specified time. Given the composition of the House, it is unlikely that BJP would be able to prove its majority unless there are defections from the Congress or AAP which may not happen.
"Since I do not have the numbers, I cannot stake my claim to form a government in Delhi. So I do not really know what's going to happen," Vardhan said. He was asked whether he will stake claim to form government.
In the last assembly polls, Congress had 43 seats, BJP 23 seats and BSP had two seats. The Lok Jana Shakti Party and Independent had one each. During the campaigning, Vardhan had promised to cut power tariff by 30 per cent and slash vegetable prices within 30 days of coming to power.
The BJP has also promised to give 12 subsidised LPG cylinders in a year to each household instead of current nine, besides ensuring full statehood. It has also promised to set up a dedicated Women Security Force to ensure safety of women.
An RSS member since his youth days, 59-year-old Vardhan, a practicing ENT surgeon, had successfully connected with the voters while leading a high-voltage campaign from the front despite undercurrents of friction in the Delhi party unit.
He was announced Chief Ministerial candidate of BJP less then a month before the polls. People close to him said Vardhan's easy-going attitude and disarming smile were his greatest assets because of which the party drew support from various quarters, some of them unexpected.
In its manifesto, Congress has promised to set up a Single Command System to address the problems of multiplicity of authorities and a common economic zone for the entire National Capital Region to minimise load on Delhi's infrastructure.
It has also promised to construct double- decker flyovers to ease traffic congestion. The AAP said it will pass the Jan Lokpal Bill within 15 days of coming to power, besides promising to cut power tariff by 50 per cent.
It said 700 litres of water per day will be given free to each household. A number of issues including price rise, corruption, unemployment, traffic congestion, water scarcity, high water and power tariff were raised by the Opposition against the Congress government.
Uncontrollable inflation, which left vegetables out of common man's reach just two months ahead of polls, also seemed to have sealed Congress' fate in its traditional bastions.
