Arvind Kejriwal has lost his re-election bid from the New Delhi seat to BJP leader Parvesh Verma, a former two-time MP whom the party had refrained from fielding in last year's Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal trailed his rival by approximately 1,200 votes, while Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit secured the third position.
The outcome is likely to reignite discussions on the rift between AAP and Congress—both part of the struggling INDIA bloc—and whether a pre-poll alliance could have helped Kejriwal retain his seat, if not his government.
Arvind Kejriwal had held the New Delhi seat since 2013, when he defeated Congress veteran and then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, marking the beginning of AAP's decade-long rule in Delhi.
Arvind Kejriwal's defeat, declared shortly after his former deputy Manish Sisodia withdrew from the contest in Janakpuri, highlighted the magnitude of AAP's setback in this election. Seeking a third consecutive term, Kejriwal and his party now face a crushing defeat. By 1 PM, the BJP was leading in 48 of Delhi’s 70 Assembly seats, while AAP trailed with 22.