New Delhi: They made the most noise during campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections, but Election Commission trends at 3 pm showed that had not paid off.
BJP candidates Tajinder Bagga (Hari Nagar) and Kapil Mishra (Model Town) had made several provocative speeches — from terming the Delhi elections an “India-Pakistan” match to calling Shaheen Bagh a “hub of anti-national activity”.
Bagga appeared to concede defeat with a Twitter post, congratulating Arvind Kejriwal and AAP on their victory in the Delhi polls.
अरविंद केजरीवाल जी और आम आदमी पार्टी की सभी कार्यकर्ताओं को हार्दिक बधाई https://t.co/3j6qFjXbMw
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) February 11, 2020
As of 3pm, Bagga was trailing AAP’s Raj Kumari Dhillon by 7,831 votes.
Mishra, who was trailing rival AAP candidate Akhilesh Pati Tripathi from Model Town by over 10,000 votes, also congratulated Kejriwal and AAP for their victory.
केजरीवाल और AAP को शानदार जीत की बधाई
भाजपा के सभी कार्यकर्ताओं का आभार हम सबने पूरी मेहनत से चुनाव लड़ा
दिल्ली की जनता का धन्यवाद
संघर्ष जारी रहेगा
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) February 11, 2020
Also read: Why Arvind Kejriwal shouldn’t start fantasising again about becoming PM
Provocative speeches prove a dud
During campaigning, Bagga, considered to be the BJP’s social media warrior, had attacked Shaheen Bagh, where Muslim women have been protesting against the new citizenship law, warning of a “surgical strike” there.
He had also said he would not allow a Shaheen Bagh in his constituency Hari Nagar.
“Wo keh rahein hai Delhi mai 100 Shaheen Bagh banayenge, Jab tak Hari Nagar mai hu kisi ki takat nahi yahan ek bhi Shaheen Bagh banaa sake,” Bagga had tweeted on February 6.
Mishra, meanwhile, ran into trouble with the Election Commission for his “India-Pakistan” comment, with the poll panel intervening and asking Twitter to pull down his controversial tweet.
Mishra also posted another inflammatory tweet: “Delhi mein chote chote Pakistan bane (Mini Pakistan has been created in Delhi).”
The EC had imposed a 48-hour campaigning ban on Mishra for his tweets.
As the trend indicated a massive victory for the AAP, party leader Sanjay Singh said, “The election was called a match between India and Pakistan and India has won.”
Shaheen Bagh, Pakistan and ‘anti-nationals’ were at the centre of the BJP leaders’ campaigns. The party also had a number of top leaders — from Home Minister Amit Shah to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — who made provocative speeches as the BJP made the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh the focus of its Delhi campaign.
But even as the BJP campaigned aggressively on these issues, the AAP kept its focus on issues of governance and highlighted the work done by the party in the last five years.
Also read: 5 reasons why Modi-Shah’s BJP lost to Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP in Delhi election