The BJP registered a huge victory in the Rajouri Garden Assembly bypoll in the national capital on Thursday, handing a humiliating defeat to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which finished a distant third and even lost its deposit.
Commenting on his party’s stunning loss from its victorious feat in 2015, Deputy Chief Minister and AAP member Manish Sisodia, on Thursday said that people were upset with the AAP over MLA Jarnail Singh quitting to contest against Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal in the Punjab assembly elections.
MLA Jarnail’s resignation affected AAP in Delhi poll.
In 2015, Jarnail Singh had won from the Rajouri Garden with 54,916 votes.
AAP member Jarnail Singh, who quit as Rajouri Garden MLA to contest the Punjab assembly polls, on Thursday said the party needs to conduct an honest introspect on its drubbing in the by-election.
Win or loss is part of the electoral politics, but the party needs a deep and honest introspection. The party fights collectively and win or loss is a collective responsibility.Jarnail Singh
He, however, declined to elaborate on his remarks.
BJP-SAD joint candidate Manjinder Singh Sirsa bagged 40,602 seats, over 50 percent of the total votes polled, in a boost for the saffron party ahead of the 23 April municipal polls.
Congress’ Meenakshi Chandela finished second with 25,950 votes while AAP’s Harjeet Singh managed to get only 10,243 votes, less than one-sixth of the total votes polled, and lost deposit.
In terms of vote share, the Congress staged a turnaround of sorts by getting around 33 percent of the total votes cast, in a jump of over 21 percent from the 2015 Assembly polls.
Around 47 percent of the over 1.6 lakh electors of the west Delhi seat had cast their vote on 9 April.
With the victory, the BJP’s tally in the 70-member Delhi Assembly will become four. The Congress does not have any presence in the House.
The Rajouri Garden seat fell vacant early this year after AAP’s Jarnail Singh quit as MLA to contest the Punjab Assembly poll against SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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