New Delhi [India], February 8 (HBTV): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed the majority mark in the Delhi Assembly election results, according to early trends from the Election Commission.

The BJP is currently leading in 38 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is ahead in 27 seats. The majority mark to form the government in the national capital is 36.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is leading from the New Delhi seat by a margin of 254 votes.

AAP candidate and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj is trailing BJP’s Shikha Roy in the Greater Kailash seat by 459 votes. Delhi Minister Atishi is trailing BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri in Kalkaji by 1,149 votes.

The BJP is also leading in Okhla, considered a stronghold of AAP’s Amanatullah Khan, by 2,260 votes. Delhi Minister Gopal Rai is leading from the Babarpur seat by 5,602 votes, while Imran Hussain is ahead in Ballimaran by 1,824 votes.

Satyendar Jain is trailing BJP’s Karnail Singh in Shakur Basti by 2,956 votes. Former AAP leader Kailash Gahlot, who recently joined the BJP, has gained a comfortable lead of 2,217 votes in Bijwasan.

Along with Delhi, counting for by-elections in Uttar Pradesh’s Milkipur seat and Tamil Nadu’s Erode seat is also underway.

All security arrangements have been put in place. Polling for the 70-member Assembly was held on February 5, with a voter turnout of 60.54 per cent.

The AAP is aiming for a third consecutive term, while the BJP is striving to return to power after more than two decades in the national capital.

Most exit polls released on Wednesday gave the BJP an edge over AAP. However, AAP leaders stated that exit polls have historically underestimated the party’s performance and expressed confidence in returning to power.

The BJP’s campaign, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, targeted AAP over alleged toxicity in the Yamuna River and the renovation of Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence. Modi also used the terms ‘Aapda’ and ‘Sheesh Mahal’ to criticize Kejriwal.

Meanwhile, AAP highlighted its ‘performance’ in the education sector during its eleven-year tenure. Kejriwal claimed that the BJP would ‘stop free education’ if it came to power.

Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also held rallies targeting Kejriwal and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia over their alleged role in the Delhi excise policy ‘scam’ case.

Key constituencies include New Delhi, where Arvind Kejriwal is contesting against Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit and BJP’s Parvesh Verma.

(ANI)