The AAP headquarters at Rouse Avenue on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg was reverberating with the sound of janta ki tayyari hai, Kejriwal ki baari hai, MCD me bhi Kejriwal as leads started coming in on Wednesday afternoon, suggesting a win for the party in the elections for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
The AAP emerged as the single largest party in the MCD polls by 1.30 pm as the final tally declared it as the winner with 133 seats, ending the 15-year rule of the BJP that got 101 seats in the civic body.
The stretch leading up to the AAP office was dotted with yellow and blue balloons, large hoardings bearing national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s face, and lots of flowers. Party workers posed with brooms, the AAP’s election symbol, to showcase victory to the media that had gathered in large numbers outside the office since. Traffic on the stretch slowed down till late afternoon, as people, media vans and party workers celebrated the AAP’s win, allowing a little movement every now and then.
Just across the road, the sprawling BJP headquarters, which was decked up in green and saffron, saw little activity that only picked up after noon. Even though many exit polls indicated a clean sweep for the AAP, trends initially put the party in a neck-to-neck fight with the BJP. It was only later that the Kejriwal-led party crossed the majority mark of 125.
Despite this, AAP workers were confident of a majority and started pouring in at the headquarters with some already posing with victory signs, as patriotic songs such as Rang de Basanti Chola played in the background. Party leaders said they did not order sweets or rose petals till the tally was clear but, right after the AAP touched the 125 mark, workers, bystanders, several candidates and leaders swarmed the party office dancing to dhol beats and lage raho Kejriwal playing aloud.
Soon, boondi laddus were distributed among people amid a sea of waving yellow and blue flags as party workers carried senior AAP leader and municipal affairs incharge Durgesh Pathak on their shoulders from inside the office to the open ground, which was decked up for speeches by the top leadership.
“We knew we were going to make it. We have been working on the ground for the past three years, this is people’s victory,” said Pathak, as he waved a party flag surrounded by hundreds of workers.
A few minutes later, there were announcements that Kejriwal was going to arrive at the party office as the tally became clearer. The terrace was set once Kejriwal reached the office and his vehicle drove in amid a shower of rose petals, guarded by heavy security as traffic was diverted to other routes. He reached the stage, accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia and Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, wearing a half sweater and a blue shirt keeping his trademark muffler away this time.
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