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As Saturday’s mandate came in favour of Verma, the two houses wore very different looks in the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party unseating the Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital
Scenes outside Parvesh Verma’s house (left) and Arvind Kejriwal’s residence. Images: Nivedita Singh/News18
Two key contenders for the New Delhi assembly seat live across the street, barely a few metres away from each other—Arvind Kejriwal and Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma. As Saturday’s mandate came in favour of Verma, the two houses wore very different looks in the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party unseating the Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital.
While Kejriwal’s residence on Firozeshah Road had barricades and high security at the gate with hardly any movement, the doors of Verma’s house were open for all to celebrate the return of the BJP to Delhi’s seat of power after nearly three decades.
Loud sloganeering of “Jai Shree Ram” and “Jo Ram ko laye hain, hum unko layenge” could be heard outside Verma’s house, only to be occasionally drowned by the bursting of firecrackers, which made the silence at neighbour Kejriwal’s residence seem louder.
Verma stepped out to meet party workers and was welcomed with flowers. Kejriwal took to social media, accepting the verdict and congratulating the BJP.
The air outside the AAP headquarters, right behind Kejriwal’s residence, was equally heavy as no party workers could be found. An animated pack of media persons hovered around the party office, the doors of which have remained closed from the inside since morning.
There was no senior party leader at the AAP office. However, some did visit Kejriwal’s house. Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh came calling in the morning, while around 2 pm Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and party leader Durgesh Pathak arrived.
Not even 50 AAP workers could be seen around these two locations—Kejriwal’s house and the AAP headquarters—since morning. On the other hand, the Delhi BJP office at Pandit Pant Marg—around 2 km from Kejriwal’s house—was teeming with scores of workers holding party flags who had started gathering early in the morning, in a show of confidence.
At the Pandit Pant Marg BJP office, there were also chants of “Jai Shree Ram” and praise for Narendra Modi. The workers, clad in saffron-coloured clothes, gathered in large numbers, and the celebrations started as soon as the results became clearer.
It is a special day for the BJP as trends confirm its return in Delhi as the ruling party after nearly three decades with a decisive mandate. The last time the BJP won the Delhi assembly polls was in 1993.
Out of the 70 assembly seats in the capital, AAP bagged over 60 seats in the 2015 and 2020 polls.
