The BJP has swept Delhi as of 2 p.m., leading in 7 out of its 7 Lok Sabha seats. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress both have failed to lead in even a single seat.
Seven constituencies from Delhi went to the polls on May 12, 2019 in a single phase. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Indian National Congress (INC) are the main contenders fighting from the Union Territory to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. While the BJP is a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the INC is with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the AAP is riding solo.
Delhi witnessed a voter turnout of around 60% this year, a drop of nearly 5% from the 2014 elections. This year, 164 candidates, of which 18 are women, are competing from the Union Territory. Some of the key candidates from Delhi include former cricketer Gautam Gambhir (BJP), political activist Atishi Marlena (AAP), former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit (INC), singer and actor Manoj Tiwari (BJP), and professional boxer Vijender Singh (INC).
Last elections, the BJP won all seven seats from Delhi. What's in store this year?
Here are the latest updates:
Trends as of 2 p.m
The BJP has swept Delhi as of 2 p.m., leading in 7 out of its 7 Lok Sabha seats. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress both have failed to lead in even a single seat. Exit polls had predicted the BJP's win in 6 of the 7 seats.
BJP workers celebrated their victory at the party's headquarters, with cut-outs of Prime Minister Modi, flags and placards of the party symbol. Counting centres were also the scenes of celebration.
"We respect mandate of India. We congratulate BJP for its victory and extend our warm wishes to Narendra Modi for being re-elected as the Prime Minister of India," AAP chied spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
Delhi North East, BJP's Manoj Tiwari is leading against former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Sheila Dikshit, while in East Delhi, former cricketer BJP's Gautam Gambhir is leading and Congress's Arvinder Singh Lovely. AAP's Atishi had also contested from East Delhi
In the 2014 Parliamentary polls too, the BJP had won all 7 seats. However, in the Assembly elections held in the national capital the following year, the AAP had won a landslide victory, winning 67 out of 70 seats.
Gautam Gambhir leads against Arvinder Singh Lovely and Atishi Marlena
Former cricketer and BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir is leading in East Delhi, which saw AAP's Atishi and Congress's Arvinder Singh Lovely contesting.
During the campaigning, Ms. Atishi had accused Mr. Gambhir of circulating derogatory material about her. Mr. Gambhir had denied the allegation and responded with a defamation notice, and had also tweeted, accusing the AAP of making up the allegations. In a press conference held by the AAP, where the pamphlet, full of personal attacks was displayed, Ms. Atishi had broken down.
Ms. Atishi is a 37-year-old Oxford alumnus who is a member of the AAP's political affairs committee. Until April last year, she was Education Minister Manish Sisodia's advisor and is well known for her work in improving the quality of education at Delhi's government schools.
Mr. Gambhir had joined the BJP this March after retiring from cricket last December. He had said that he joined politics to find solutions to problems faced by people.
As of 12 p.m., Gautam Gambhir had 53.21% of the votes against Atishi's 17.85%
Trends as of 11 a.m
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates were leading in all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi in the first three hours of counting for the 2019 general elections on Thursday, while the Congress was on the second spot in four and the Aam Aadmi Party on three constituencies.
The BJP, which had won all seven seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha seats, was leading in Chandni Chowk by 25,152 votes, East Delhi by 34,875, New Delhi by 32,352 , North East Delhi by 78,963, North West Delhi by 70,683, South Delhi by 41,640 and West Delhi by 75,664 votes as of 11 a.m., according to the Election Commission of India.
The AAP, which has been in power in the Delhi government since 2015, was second place in South Delhi, North West Delhi and West Delhi.
