Arvind Kejriwal has lost his re-election bid from the New Delhi seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma, a former two-time MP whom the party had held back from last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Kejriwal finished around 1,200 votes behind his rival, while Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit secured third place. The result reignites discussions about the rift between AAP and Congress—both part of the struggling INDIA bloc—and whether an alliance could have helped the AAP chief retain his seat, if not his government.
Meanwhile, Mr. Verma, hailed as a ‘giant-slayer’ and a potential future Chief Minister, is expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Mr. Kejriwal had held the New Delhi seat since 2013, when he defeated Congress veteran and then-Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, paving the way for AAP’s decade-long rule in Delhi. However, his loss—announced shortly after his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, conceded defeat in Jangpura—highlights the scale of AAP’s downfall in this election.
As of 1 PM, BJP was leading in 48 of Delhi’s 70 Assembly seats, while AAP was ahead in only 22. With both Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Sisodia facing corruption charges in the liquor policy scam, the defeat is seen as a major setback—one that could mark the ‘end’ of AAP’s dominance in Delhi politics.
