Bawana election result 2017 Highlights: Kejriwal thanks Delhi for ‘stamp of approval’ after big win

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Updated: Aug 28, 2017 16:05 IST

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the Bawana bypoll in a performance it was so desperate to pull off after a series of losses since its landslide victory in Delhi assembly elections in 2015.

After closing in on Congress in the initial rounds, AAP raced ahead by a wide margin making it possible for the party to retain its seat in Bawana. Though the Congress seemed to be leading in the initial rounds it was pushed back to the third spot in the latter half of the counting by BJP, which had swept the municipal polls in April this year and scored an easy second spot last time.

Bawana bypoll: Development focus, course correction did the trick for AAP

Bypoll in Bawana became necessary after AAP candidate Ved Parkash returned to BJP just before the municipal polls. Parkash, a former vice-president of BJP Youth Wing, is contesting Bawana bypoll on a BJP ticket.

The AAP has fielded party volunteer Ram Chandra, who had contested assembly poll from Bawana in 2008 on a BSP ticket. The Congress fielded party veteran and three-time MLA from Bawana Surender Kumar.



Bawana election result: AAP wins Delhi bypoll in blow to BJP, Congress doubles votes

Here are Live updates:

2.40pm: EVMs equipped with VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) were used for the first time during elections in Bawana.

2.30pm: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee congratulates Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party for victory in Bawana bypoll. The Delhi CM responded to her tweet with ‘Thank u Didi’.

2.20pm: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal takes to Twitter to thank people of Bawana for “putting their stamp of approval on clean politics and performance of AAP government over two-and-a-half years”.

2.15pm: Responding after the party’s defeat, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari says he would analyse why the party failed to win the election. “ The fact is that AAP has managed to retain the seat. We tried every possible effort to snatch it but could not succeed. We will look into the issues and take corrective measures. We should learn from our failures and we will certainly take it as a lesson,” he said.

AAP’s Ram Chandra celebrates his victory with supporters. ( HT Photo )

2pm: For the BJP, the loss of Bawana seat comes barely four months into its total domination in the municipal polls and a sweep of the Rajouri Garden bypolls.

1.50pm: Ajay Maken, Delhi Congress chief: “We will further consolidate our efforts. The election result proves that the Congress is an important player in Delhi. Our vote share has increased while that of both AAP and BJP has gone down.”

1.40pm: AAP candidate and winner Ram Chander says he will take development in Bawana to the next level.

1.30pm: BJP candidate Ved Parkash takes a dig at Arvind Kejriwal after results, says the election is not a reflection of Modi’s popularity in any way.

1.15pm: FINAL TALLY: AAP 59886, BJP 35834, Congress 31919.

1.10pm: Ram Chandra of AAP wins Bawana assembly polls. He defeats BJP’s Ved Parkash by around 24,00 votes.

1pm: Tally after 27th round: AAP 59844, BJP 35782, Congress 31881.

12.50pm: Tally after 24th round: AAP 53465, BJP 31064, Congress 28634.

12.40pm: AAP tweets a congratulatory message to supporters.

12.35pm: Tally after 23rd round: AAP 51070, BJP 29595 and Congress 28126. Only five more rounds to go.

12.30pm: AAP supporters chant ‘Arvind Kejriwal zindabad’ as party takes a lead of about 20,000 votes.

12.20pm: Tally after 22nd round: AAP 48366, BJP 28236, Congress 27596. Congress which had started with a lead is now at the third position.

12.15pm: Tally after 21st round: AAP 47554, Congress 27090, BJP 26406.

12.05pm: Congress candidate Surender Kumar says Congress had put in its best efforts. “The fact that the AAP candidate was a resident of JJ Colony worked in his favour. The CM also did door-to-door campaign in the area and made many promises which worked for AAP.”

11.50am: Anticipating victory, AAP supporters begin to gather outside the counting venue to celebrate.

#BawanaByPoll Cong candidate Surender Kumar talks to media after coming out of counting station as trend shows AAP win @htTweets @htdelhi pic.twitter.com/nDiwCLpiHV — Abhinav Rajput (@Abhinavrt) August 28, 2017

11.40am:Tally after 19th round: AAP 42942, Congress 25885, BJP 23949.

11.30am: Tally after 18th round: AAP 40402, Congress 25187, BJP 22750. With 15,000 lead AAP looks very strong now.

11.25am: Tally after 17th round: AAP 36878, Congress 24648, BJP 21992, AAP continues to widen its lead.

11.15am: Tally after 16th round: AAP 34653, Congress 23736 and BJP 21378.

11.10am: Tally after 15th round: AAP 30770, Congress 23327 BJP 20545. BJP has made a comeback in this round. 825 votes for NOTA so far.

11am: Tally after 14th round: AAP 27647, Congress 22936, BJP 19542. 14 more rounds to go.

Campaign diaries: AAP says anti-incumbency burden on BJP candidate

10.50am: Tally after 13th round: AAP 25374, Congress 22465 and BJP 18041.

10.40am: Tally after 12th round: AAP 23216, Congress 21848 and BJP 16561. AAP getting stronger with this round. Smaller parties and Independents have not touched the four digit mark.

Read: AAP, Cong, BJP locked in battle of prestige in Delhi

10.30am: Tally after 11th round: AAP 20785, Congress 20194 and BJP 15346.Congress has lost its slim lead over AAP which is again leading.

10.20am: Vote difference between AAP and Congress just around 300 after 10 rounds.

10.10am: After 10th round: AAP which was leading since past three rounds now pushed to second position. Congress takes lead yet again.

10am: The by-election became necessary after AAP legislator Ved Parkash quit the Delhi assembly and went back to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the municipal elections. Parkash, a former vice-president of BJP’s youth wing, had defected to AAP just ahead of the 2015 assembly elections. Parkash is in the fray on a BJP ticket this time.

9.50am: Congress candidate Surendra Kumar has an early lead of around 2,000 votes over his BJP rival. Three key contestants locked in the poll battle in Bawana are: AAP’s Ram Chandra, Congress’s Surendra Kumar, BJP’s Ved Prakash