Parvesh Verma defeated Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 4,089 votes. Additionally, Sandeep Dikshit finished in a far third place with 4,568 votes.
Delhi, New Delhi:
The main storyline of this Delhi election is the defeat of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by BJP candidate Parvesh Verma. However, there is a backstory of how Congressman Sandeep Dikshit, the son of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, was able to guarantee Mr. Kejriwal’s defeat despite his third-place finish.
For the constituency of New Delhi, this is somewhat of a déjà vu. The constituency, known as Gole Market at the time, was won by former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in 1998 and 2003. The seat was renamed New Delhi following delimitation, and Ms. Dikshit was elected in 2008. Mr. Kejriwal entered the polling arena in the 2013 elections. The AAP leader, who was riding high on popularity following the India Against Corruption movement, defeated the three-term Chief Minister, so ending her political career, and came out on top. The Congress was likewise overthrown by the AAP’s 2013 win.
Twelve years later, the Goliath, the 47-year-old Parvesh Verma of the BJP, defeated the national convener of the AAP. But the numbers tell a different tale. By a margin of 4,089 votes, Mr. Verma defeated Mr. Kejriwal. Additionally, Sandeep Dikshit finished in a far third place with 4,568 votes. Therefore, Mr. Kejriwal would have probably won by a tiny margin if the AAP and the Congress had run jointly in this election. However, it was not to be.
Another story is revealed by the numbers. By more than 21,000 votes, Mr. Kejriwal defeated Sunil Yadav of the BJP to win New Delhi in the 2020 election. At that point, the Congress candidate, Romesh Sabharwal, had received 3,220 votes. According to the data, the BJP has undoubtedly gained a significant amount of ground in the constituency between these two elections. Additionally, it seems that the voters were influenced by the accusations of corruption against the AAP convener in the liquor policy issue as well as by purported irregularities in the renovation of the Chief Minister’s residence.
Mr. Dikshit ran a vigourous campaign against the AAP leader in the lead-up to the election, claiming that the Congress needed to bring out the shortcomings of the Delhi administration. Because of her crucial contribution to the development of the nation’s capital, Sheila Dikshit’s legacy endures in the hearts of Delhi residents, according to his sister Latika, who ran for office.
Remarkably, Mr. Verma is also the son of Sahib Singh Verma, the former chief minister of Delhi. Former BJP leader Sahib Singh Verma took over as chief minister of the nation’s capital from February 1996 to October 1998, replacing Madan Lal Khurana.
