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Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is seeking re-election for the fourth time, is leading from the New Delhi assembly seat - which has been his stronghold since the last three elections. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Parvesh Verma is trailing from the seat, early trends showed.
Election Commission's early trends show Mr Verma is trailing with a margin of 254 votes.
Congress' Sandeep Dikshit, the son of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who was defeated by the AAP chief in 2013, is also fighting the election from the New Delhi constituency.
According to the initial trends for the Delhi assembly elections, BJP is leading in 45 seats while the AAP is ahead in 24 seats. Congress is leading in one seat.
The biggest challenge the AAP government faced this election was the Delhi liquor policy case. Mr Kejriwal, who gave up his chief ministership, and his deputy Manish Sisodia, spent months in jail. Both AAP and BJP campaigns promised improvements to public schools and free healthcare services in the national capital.
The Delhi assembly election result will be declared today, determining whether Arvind Kejriwal's AAP will hold its fortress and come to power for a fourth term, or BJP will make a comeback in the national capital after nearly three decades. The counting of votes began at 8 am across all 70 constituencies.
Several exit polls gave the BJP an edge over the AAP, which has been in power in Delhi since 2015. According to the exit poll predictions, the BJP will win at least 45 to 55 of Delhi's 70 seats, while the ruling AAP will suffer major losses. Congress, which is looking for some gains after drawing a blank in the last two elections, is likely to get only one seat.
AAP's winning streak in past elections
The AAP has been establishing its dominance in Delhi's political map routing since the last two elections. In the 2013 Assembly elections, the BJP, the single-largest party, bagged 31 seats, five seats less than the required majority in the 70-member house. The AAP and the Congress, with 28 and eight seats, subsequently joined hands to form a government but it only lasted 49 days. Following this, a President's Rule was imposed in the national capital.
In 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party won 67 of 70 seats in the assembly elections. The BJP managed to win three seats, while the Congress could not even open its account.
In 2020, AAP pulled off yet another stellar performance by winning 62 out of the 70 assembly seats. The BJP improved its tally winning 8 seats, while the Congress - which had ruled the national capital between 1998 and 2013 - did not get any seats.