Cong ministers suffer embarrassing defeat
New Delhi, December 8
Four of the Cabinet ministers of the Sheila Dikshit government, including the Chief Minister herself, came crashing in the Delhi Assembly elections. The Congress heavyweights, including Minister of Women and Child Welfare Kiran Walia, Minister of Public Works Department Raj Kumar Chauhan, Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami, Health Minister AK Walia and Sheila Dikshit who also held Finance Ministry, have lost their seats with heavy margins.

THE FACE OF DEFEAT: A deserted All India Congress Committee office in New Delhi on Sunday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

The favourites of Delhi voters
The following is the list of winners: Ram Kishan Singhal, BJP, Darsh Nagar; Ashok Kumar, AAP, Ambedkar Nagar; Naresh Gaur, BJP, Babarpur; Rambir Singh Bidhuri, BJP, Badarpur; Devender Yadav, INC, Badli; Haroon Yusuf, INC, Ballimaran; Gugan Singh, BJP, Bawana; Sat Prakash Rana, BJP, Bijwasan; Sanjeev Jha, AAP, Burari; Parlad Singh Sawhney, INC, Chandni Chowk; Brahm Singh Tanwar, BJP, Chhatarpur; Surender Singh, AAP, Delhi Cantt;

Cong, BJP supporters quietly observe AAP's march ahead
New Delhi, December 8
There was a nerve-racking silence before the announcement of the results for the New Delhi Assembly constituency. It was further compounded by the mechanical environment of the constituency's counting hall that was similar to a government office.

5 Muslim MLAs retain seats
New Delhi, December 8
Five Muslim MLAs, four of the Congress and one of the JDU retained their seats in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The five MLAs are: Hasan Ahmed, Haroon Yusuf, Asif Mohammad Khan, Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed and Shoaib Iqbal of Janata Dal (United).

About 49,000 voters opt for NOTA
New Delhi, December 8
Even as the majority of people in Delhi chose to sweep up the Congress from the Delhi Assembly clearing the way for the BJP and the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), around 49,000 voters, which is not even one per cent, rejected all of the candidates in the fray by selecting 'None of the Above' (NOTA) option.

Cong ministers suffer embarrassing defeat
Himani Chandel
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 8
Four of the Cabinet ministers of the Sheila Dikshit government, including the Chief Minister herself, came crashing in the Delhi Assembly elections. The Congress heavyweights, including Minister of Women and Child Welfare Kiran Walia, Minister of Public Works Department Raj Kumar Chauhan, Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami, Health Minister AK Walia and Sheila Dikshit who also held Finance Ministry, have lost their seats with heavy margins.

Prof Kiran Walia from the Malviya Nagar constituency was third with 20,500 votes after BJP's Arti Mehra 24,486. The seat was won by Somnath Bharti of the Aam Admi Party (AAP). Twenty-six-year-old Rakhi Birla (44,383) defeated four-time MLA Raj Kumar Chauhan (33,798) by more than 10,000 votes in Mangolpuri. Three-time MLA Goswami (20,817) lost by 15,000 votes in Rajinder Nagar, the seat which was won by RP Singh (35,713) of the BJP. Four-time Congress MLA Dr AK Walia lost from Laxmi Nagar by around 8,000 votes. The seat is won by Vinod Kumar Binny who got 43,052 votes.

The most disappointing defeat was faced by 75-year-old Dikshit who lost the New Delhi constituency seat by a whooping of 25,864 votes to the AAP founder, Arvind Kejriwal. Dikshit was the lone face of the Congress, except for a few fleeting appearances of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, as she carried the burden of the poll campaign.

Dikshit led the election campaign in Delhi, addressing around seven-eight rallies daily to take on formidable BJP which had deployed a battery of star campaigners, including its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

She was faced with a daunting task of overcoming the unpopular image of her party at the Centre and the undercurrents within the DPCC where senior leaders were unhappy over her unilateral choice of candidates. The AAP also campaigned extensively against her on the issue of corruption and price rise.

She faced taint of corruption in the CWG projects as Prime Minister-appointed Shunglu Committee, CAG and CVC pointed various alleged irregularities, though she strongly refuted them.

The favourites of Delhi voters

The following is the list of winners: Ram Kishan Singhal, BJP, Darsh Nagar; Ashok Kumar, AAP, Ambedkar Nagar; Naresh Gaur, BJP, Babarpur; Rambir Singh Bidhuri, BJP, Badarpur; Devender Yadav, INC, Badli; Haroon Yusuf, INC, Ballimaran; Gugan Singh, BJP, Bawana; Sat Prakash Rana, BJP, Bijwasan; Sanjeev Jha, AAP, Burari; Parlad Singh Sawhney, INC, Chandni Chowk; Brahm Singh Tanwar, BJP, Chhatarpur; Surender Singh, AAP, Delhi Cantt;

Prakash, AAP, Deoli; Parduymn Rajput, BJP, Dwarka; Arvinder Singh Lovely, INC, Gandhi Nagar; Sahab Singh Chauhan, BJP, Ghonda; Ranjeet Singh, BJP, Gokalpur; Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP, Greater Kailash; Jagdeep Singh, AAP, Hari Nagar; Jagdish Mukhi, BJP, Janakpuri; Maninder Singh Dhir, AAP, Jangpura; Harmeet Singh, BJP, Kalkaji; Mohan Singh Bisht, BJP, Karawal Nagar; Vishesh Ravi, AAP, Karol Bagh, Madan Lal, AAP, Kasturba Nagar; Anil Jha, BJP, Kirari; Manoj Kumar, AAP, Kondli; Harsh Vardhan, BJP, Krishna Nagar; Vinod Kumar Binny, AAP,Laxmi Nagar; Girish Soni, AAP, Madipur; Shri Somnath Bharti, AAP, Malviya nagar; Rakhi Birla, AAP, Mangolpuri; Shoaib Iqbal, JD(U), Matia Mahal; Rajesh Gahlot, BJP, Matiala; Parvesh Sahib Singh, BJP, Mehrauli; Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, AAP, Model Town; Subhash Sachdeva, BJP, Moti Nagar; Rambir Shokeen, Independent, Mundka; Hasan Ahmed, INC, Mustafabad; Ajeet Singh Kharkhari, BJP, Najafgarh; Manoj Kumar Shokeen, BJP, Nangloi Jat; Neel Daman Khatri, BJP, Narela; Arvind Kejriwal AAP, New Delhi, Asif Mohd Khan, INC, Okhla; Dharm Dev Solanki, BJP, Palam; Veena Anand, AAP, Patel Nagar; Manish Sisodia, AAP, Patparganj; Anil Kumar Sharma, BJP, R K Puram; R. P. Singh, BJP, Rajinder Nagar; Manjinder Singh Sirsa, SAD, Rajouri Garden, Kulwant Rana, BJP, Rithala; Rajesh Garg, AAP, Rohini; Jitender Kumar, BJP, Rohtas Nagar; Som Dutt, AAP, Sadar Bazar; Dinesh Mohaniya, AAP, Sangam Vihar; Chaudhary Mateen Ahmad, INC, Seelampur; Dharmender Singh, AAP, Seemapuri; Jitender Singh Shunty, BJP, Shahdara; Satyender Kumar Jain, AAP, Shakur Basti, Bandana Kumari, AAP, Shalimar Bagh; Jai Kishan, INC, Sultanpur Majra; Jarnail Singh, AAP, Tilak Nagar; Harish Khanna, AAP, Timarpur; Nand Kishore Garg, BJP, Trinagar; Raju, AAP, Trilokpuri; Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP, Tughlakabad; Pawan Sharma, BJP, Uttam Nagar; Mahinder Yadav, AAP, Vikaspuri; Om Prakash Sharma, BJP, Vishwas Nagar; Mahender Nagpal, BJP, Wazirpur. — TNS

Cong, BJP supporters quietly observe AAP's march ahead
Shaurya Karanbir Gurung
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 8
There was a nerve-racking silence before the announcement of the results for the New Delhi Assembly constituency. It was further compounded by the mechanical environment of the constituency's counting hall that was similar to a government office.

It was a sure thing for the debutant Aam Admi Party (AAP). After the counting began, they were already thousands of votes ahead of their main rivals, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. But everyone quietly waited for the final round of the counting.

A man wearing a Gandhian cap with 'Aam Admi Party' written on it in black ink, walked into the hall. The announcement was made. AAP's chief Arvind Kejriwal, who contested for the New Delhi constituency, had emerged victorious. It was an expected result, but the silence nevertheless remained. The man stepped outside and spoke to someone over the phone. He was immediately surrounded by reporters who called him 'Sanjay ji'.

A journalist with peppered hair was the first one who managed to pull a mike in front of his face. "How does it feel to be victorious?" asked the journalist. "We have brought a storm in Delhi. The public has defeated the people who looted them. The aam admi (common man) has woken up. The public had showed so much love for Sheila Dikshit, but there were still high electricity bills to pay and corruption to face," said the AAP leader, Sanjay Singh, pointing at her defeat.

The expression of happiness on his face was also visible on the hundreds of AAP supporters, who had gathered outside the gates of the N P Bengali Girls Senior Secondary School in Gol Market, which is housing the New Delhi District's counting centre.

5 Muslim MLAs retain seats
Syed Ali Ahmed
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 8
Five Muslim MLAs, four of the Congress and one of the JDU retained their seats in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The five MLAs are: Hasan Ahmed, Haroon Yusuf, Asif Mohammad Khan, Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed and Shoaib Iqbal of Janata Dal (United).

Haroon Yusuf was trailing behind the BJP candidate Moti Lal Sodhi in Ballimaran assembly constituency when the counting begun but at the end he went ahead, defeating his nearest rival with a margin of 8,093 votes. BSP candidate Imran Hussain stood third securing 16,267 votes.

Hasan Ahmed defeated BJP candidate Jagdish Pradhan in Mustafabad with a margin of 1,896 votes. Hasan secured 56,250 votes, Pradhan 54,354 and AAP's Kapil Kumar Dhama got 19,759 votes.

Seelampur MLA Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed has won the seat with a margin of 19,728 votes bagging a total number of 46,452 votes. BJP's Kaushal Kumar Mishra was on the second position by securing 24,724 and Abdul Rehman of BJP had to be satisfied with just 13,352 votes.

Congress MLA from Okhla constituency, Asif Mohammad Khan won the election with a margin of 26,545 votes defeating his rival candidate of AAP's Irfanullah Khan who got 23,459 votes. BJP's Dhir Singh Biduri was polled 23,358 votes.

Four-time JDU MLA from Matia Mahal constituency, Shoaib Iqbal won the election with a margin 2,891 votes. His nearest rival Congress's Mirza Javed Ali secured 19,841 votes while AAP's candidate Shakeel Anjum got 18,668 while the BJP's Nizamuddin was polled just 6,061 votes.

About 49,000 voters opt for NOTA
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 8
Even as the majority of people in Delhi chose to sweep up the Congress from the Delhi Assembly clearing the way for the BJP and the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), around 49,000 voters, which is not even one per cent, rejected all of the candidates in the fray by selecting 'None of the Above' (NOTA) option.

In Delhi's Adarsh Nagar, there were 322 votes for NOTA in the 35,144 votes counted.

The feature of negative voting was introduced for the first time by the Election Commission of India after a recent Supreme Court order.

However, NOTA will have no impact on the outcome of the polls. Even if more than 50 per cent of the voters opt for negative voting, it will not change the result or prevent a candidate from winning. As usual, the candidate who gets the maximum votes among all other candidates in the fray will be declared the winner.

However, the introduction of NOTA is being seen as a first major step towards sweeping electoral reforms in the country. Many feel that it will make the candidates work hard to keep the voter's faith.

Others argue that the mere introduction of NOTA makes no difference to the 'corrupt' electoral system, unless they count it and if 50 per cent of the voters opt for NOTA, then it should be treated as a rejection of all the candidates.