Upadhyay accepts defeat, says BJP failed to understand 'public mood'

Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay on Tuesday said that his party accepts the public mandate and added that it failed to understand the mood and trust of the people of Delhi.

Upadhyay said it seems to be a splendid victory for the AAP as per the trends.

"We would like to thank the people of Delhi. The BJP accepts the mandate that the people have given for Delhi. We feel that there was some mistake on our part as we failed to understand the mood and trust of the people," said Upadhyay.

"If the results come out according to the trends, then certainly I want to congratulate Kejriwal ji," he added.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal, who had come under sharp criticism after his decision to resign as the chief minister post the last assembly polls, has bounced back strongly this time with his party leading in 66 seats as per the latest trends.

The BJP, which had brought in former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, has suffered a major setback as it is ahead in just four seats. The Congress, which had ruled the national capital for 15 years and was trying to rebuild its lost ground in Delhi, is trailing in all the 70 assembly seats.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes. Counting, which began at 8 a.m., is taking place at 14 centres in nine districts of the national capital.

A three-tier security has been put in place at all the 14 counting centres.

A voter turnout of 67.08 percent was recorded in the polling for the Delhi Assembly.

A total of 673 candidates are in the fray this time.