Delhi Elections: As AAP Surges Ahead, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Congratulates Kejriwal
New Delhi: Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hailed Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) victory in Delhi, according to the news agency ANI. Chowdhury described AAP's defeat of the BJP's communal agenda as significant. The Congress MP also regretted the decline of the Congress.
Congress MP AR Chowdhury: Everyone knew that Aam Aadmi Party will return to power for the third time. Congress's defeat will not send a good message. The victory of AAP against the Bharatiya Janata Party & its communal agenda is significant. pic.twitter.com/HD2vQhFfpn
— ANI (@ANI) February 11, 2020
The Congress MP's statement points to a widely held perception that the Congress kept a low profile in order to prevent the BJP gaining an upper hand in the Delhi elections. As a result, in most constituencies, at the end of 6 rounds of counting, Congress candidates polled under 1000 votes. This is considered abysmally low by all standards.
The Congress is nowhere in the scene because of its own leadership's decision, barring constituencies where individual candidates put up a strong fight. Shivani Chopra in Kalkaji, Alka Lamba in Chandni Chowk are among such candidates who tried to take on AAP.
The BJP appears to be content with improving its 2015 Delhi performance. At the end of six rounds of counting, the BJP had leads in about 13 constituencies compared to AAP's 57. The Congress still stood on zero as counting commenced for the seventh round.