AAP defector Kailash Gahlot leading in Bijwasan, Surender Bhardwaj trailing
What's the story
Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kailash Gahlot, who defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just months before the Delhi Assembly elections, is leading in the Bijwasan seat by 2,714 votes.
Trailing him is Surender Bhardwaj of the AAP with 9,406 votes and Colonel Devinder Kumar Sehrwat of the Congress with a meager 983 votes.
Election history
Bijwasan constituency: A snapshot of past and present
Gahlot joined the BJP in November.
In his resignation letter to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, Gahlot slammed the party for putting "political ambitions" above public service.
The 50-year-old also said that instead of fighting for citizens' rights, the party was working for its own political agenda.
Gahlot was long regarded as one of Kejriwal's closest allies, especially during the period when the former CM was incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar Jail over the alleged liquor policy scam.
Constituency profile
Bijwasan: A key battleground in Delhi elections
Bijwasan is one of Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies. It was formed in 2008 after delimitation.
It covers Dhulsiras, Vasant Kunj, Mahipalpur, Rangpuri, Nangal Dewat, Bijwasan, Samalkha, Bamnauli, Kapashera, Shahbad Mohammadpur and Rajnagar. Parts of Dwarka also fall under the constituency.
In the last election cycle of 2020, AAP's Joon defeated BJP's Sat Prakash Rana by 753 votes. Congress candidate Parveen Rana got 5,937 votes (4.75% of total votes cast).