New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal faced a stunning defeat in the New Delhi constituency, losing to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Parvesh Sahib Singh by a margin of 1,200 votes in the Assembly elections.

Kejriwal trailed by over 1,000 votes as counting entered the final rounds, marking a significant setback for AAP, which had dominated Delhi politics in the last two assembly elections.

In another blow to the party, AAP leader Manish Sisodia also conceded defeat, losing to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by nearly 900 votes.

The counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly elections began on Saturday under tight security. Polling for the 70-member assembly took place on February 5, with a voter turnout of 60.54 per cent.

Earlier trends had shown the BJP leading in 24 seats, while AAP was ahead in six, according to the Election Commission of India at 9:30 am.

Most exit polls released ahead of the results had predicted a BJP edge over AAP. However, AAP leaders had dismissed these projections, claiming that such polls had historically underestimated their performance and expressing confidence in returning to power.