Indian Prime Minister Modi’s BJP party badly thrashed in Delhi election by Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party

This news has been read 13932 times!

NEW DELHI (AP) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party was facing a major defeat by a regional party Tuesday in elections in the national capital that were seen as a referendum on Modi’s policies such as a new national citizenship law that excludes Muslims.
Saturday’s New Delhi legislative elections pit Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party against the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, or “common man’s” party, whose pro-poor policies focused on fixing state-run schools and providing cheap electricity, free health care and bus transport for women during its five years in power.

Supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party, or “common man’s” party, celebrate the party’s victory in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. The polls put Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party against the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, whose pro-poor policies have focused on fixing state-run schools and providing free health care and bus fares for women during the five years in power. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)


Modi and Home minister Amit Shah appealed to majority Hindus by focusing on national issues such as the citizenship law, which triggered widespread protests, at the expense of problems facing the capital’s millions of residents.


With nearly 60% of the votes counted, the Aam Admi Party, or AAP, was leading in 58 of the 70 constituencies and the BJP in 12, the Election Commission said. The Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi, was facing a major loss.


A defeat will be a setback to Modi’s prestige, coming less than eight months after he led the BJP to a resounding victory in national elections. The party won all seven of the capital’s parliamentary seats in those polls.


A victory would be a major boost for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, the 51-year-old incumbent New Delhi chief minister and anti-corruption crusader.
Kejriwal launched the party in 2012 and campaigned to rid the Indian political system and government of corruption and inefficiency.
The party’s symbol – a broom- and its promise to sweep the administration of graft struck a chord with New Delhi nearly 20 million people.

This news has been read 13932 times!

Related Articles

Back to top button

Advt Blocker Detected

Kindly disable the Ad blocker

Verified by MonsterInsights