The 'second freedom struggle'

Emotions soared at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s headquarters as hundreds waved brooms, the party's symbol, here.

People danced to drum beats. "Even Nelson Mandela would have been happy to witness this day," shouted a member. The party had realised it had won a long-fought battle even before the final results were out.

Said Sonu Mittal, a volunteer who left his job two months ago to take part in what the party calls the "second freedom struggle", "It is no less than a war of independence for us. Today, we have got freedom from corruption."

It was party leader Kumar Vishwas' job to keep coming to the balcony to announce result updates, which he did in the manner of cricket commentary.

The loudest cheer was reserved for the moment when it was announced that Arvind Kejriwal had defeated Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the New Delhi constituency.

An excited Vishwas said as the crowd roared with joy, "And, my friends, Kejriwal ji has won by 22,000 votes."

The crowd was delirious.

A quote from Mahatma Gandhi, hanging on the bungalow premises read: "Politics without spirituality is sin." In Delhi, probably heading for the Centre's rule, how AAP translates this ideal into practice remains to be seen.