Delhi / Arvind Kejriwal to take oath as Delhi CM on February 16 at Ramlila Maidan

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is set to take oath as Delhi chief minister on February 16 at the Ramlila Maidan. This will be Kejriwal’s third stint as chief minister.

The AAP secured a stunning victory securing 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The BJP increased its seats tally to eight, from three in 2015. The Congress, however, once again drew a blank.

Acknowledging the mandate from Delhi, Kejriwal gave a big “I love you” shout-out to the city and thanked it for reposing its faith in its son. He further added that AAP’s victory will give birth to “kaam ki rajneeti (politics of work)”.

NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party said the results of Delhi assembly elections prove that people reward those who work.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, whose sixth sense told him that the party will form government, rejected the charge of opposition parties that his party fought the polls on a “divisive” agenda.

“We never do politics of hate but we are still against the blockage of roads for 60 days as it leads to inconvenience of people. We will review the results and the reasons behind our defeat. I’m the Delhi BJP president, so I take the responsibility,” he said.

The BJP sought to present the Shaheen Bagh protesters, objecting to a law that excludes Muslims from a bill that fast-tracks Indian citizenship for refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who have been in India before 31 December 2014, as anti-nationals.

In a smart move, Kejriwal kept the focus sharply local and maintained his own narrative instead of getting trapped in the one set by the rival parties, especially the BJP over Shaheen Bagh — the site of anti-CAA protests in the capital and the debate around the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. It worked handsomely for the party capturing 53.6% vote share, not far from the share it won in 2015 (and just four seats less).

The win assumes even greater significance as the AAP was routed in the Lok Sabha polls. The party won only 18% of the votes polled, coming third in five of the seven parliamentary constituencies.

When it first emerged on the political stage, winning 28 seats in the 2013 election, most political veterans of other parties were dismissive of AAP’s prospects — they saw it as a one-election wonder.