NEW DELHI: A day after its crushing defeat in the Delhi assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged widespread violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and claimed that the entire system was against them. Former deputy CM Manish Sisodia who lost in Jangpura, described the situation as one where “the entire machinery was against us, and the MCC was openly violated.”
“Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with party leaders who were not able to win the elections. He motivated them, acknowledging that they contested the elections strongly despite the entire machinery being against us and the MCC being openly violated,” Sisodia said.
AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, who won in Okhla echoed similar sentiments, expressing disappointment over the election outcome. “We are deeply saddened by the result. It feels like the system, Election Commission, police, and all powers were used by them (BJP) to intentionally cause the loss (to AAP). The margin was too small,” Khan said.
The allegations come after AAP suffered a significant defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, securing only 22 out of 70 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 48, marking a decisive return to power in the national capital after 27 years. Among the AAP stalwarts who lost their seats were former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Sisodia, and ministers Satyendra Jain and Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Before the elections, AAP had already raised concerns about MCC violations, accusing the BJP of using government machinery to manipulate the electoral process. The party had claimed that BJP workers were distributing cash and gifts to voters and using state institutions to harass AAP candidates. These claims were dismissed by the Election Commission at the time, which maintained that the elections were conducted fairly.
Interestingly, Sisodia and Khan’s comments come a day after Kejriwal had conceded defeat and congratulated the BJP. “We accept people’s mandate with humility and I congratulate the BJP for its victory. I hope they will fulfil the expectations of the people of Delhi,” he said in a video message. He acknowledged the work AAP had done in education, infrastructure, and utilities over the past decade and pledged to serve as a constructive opposition. “We are not in politics for power; we consider it a medium to serve people,” he added.
BJP’s Parvesh Verma defeated Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency by a margin of 4,089 votes. Manish Sisodia lost his Jangpura seat to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by 675 votes. Congress, once a dominant force in Delhi, failed to win any seats for the third consecutive election.