Delhi polls: EC trends show BJP ahead in 43 seats, AAP 27; Kejriwal trails by 238 votes

New Delhi: The BJP was leading in 43 of Delhi's 70 assembly seats while AAP was ahead in 27, according to the early trends released by the Election Commission.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal trailed by 238 votes from the New Delhi seat after seven rounds of counting. However, Kejriwal's former deputy Manish Sisodia was leading by 3,773 votes in Jagpura after 4 rounds of counting.

In Kalkaji, Chief Minister Atishi was trailing the BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri by 2,800 votes after the fifth round of counting, the Election Commission (EC) data showed.

"The people will give the BJP a decisive mandate. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Delhi will progress alongside the rest of the country. I can confidently say that AAP will be eliminated from the national capital," Bidhuri said.

The BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht was leading by 16,181 votes in Mustafabad -- where the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded northeast Delhi riots-accused Tahir Hussain -- after three rounds.

In Okhla, AAP's Amantullah Khan was leading with 8,725 votes.

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj was trailing by 459 votes in Greater Kailash while Gopal Rai, his colleague in the Delhi Cabinet, was leading by 8,995 votes in Babarpur.

The BJP's Kapil Mishra was leading in the Karawal Nagar seat by 8,603 votes after three rounds of counting while Tilak Ram Gupta was ahead by 8,339 votes in Tri Nagar.

Saffron party candidates Sanjay Goel (Shahdara), Chandan Chaudhary (Sangam Vihar), Bajrang Shukla (Kirari) and Kartar Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur) were also leading.

Durgesh Pathak (Rajinder Nagar), Anjana Parcha (Trilokpuri) and Veer Singh Dhingan (Seemapuri) were ahead of their rivals.

With early trends showing a significant lead for the BJP, its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said the national capital's next chief minister would be from the saffron party.

"The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome," he told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.

The BJP has been out of office in Delhi since 1998. On the other hand, AAP has dominated Delhi's political landscape for the past 10 years, winning the 2015 and the 2020 polls by whopping majorities.

The Congress, which governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013, is looking to stage a comeback after failing to win a single seat in the previous two elections.

Delhi, with 1.55 crore eligible voters, recorded a turnout of 60.54 per cent in the February 5 election.