Arvind Kejriwal on the “biggest lesson” from Haryana elections

Heading for an unexpected win in Haryana, the BJP’s Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the “biggest lesson” from the results was to never be overconfident.

Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party or AAP, which contested 89 seats alone, failed to even open its account in the state.

Belying exit poll predictions, the BJP is set for a third consecutive victory in Haryana, leading in 50 of the 90 seats.

“Let’s see what the results are in Haryana. The biggest lesson is that one should never be overconfident in elections,” Mr Kejriwal said at a gathering of AAP councillors.

Many also saw his words as a dig at the Congress, which halted its victory celebrations as soon as the lead changed in Haryana.

Nationally, the AAP’s alliance partner Congress slipped to second place after topping the list in the first hour. Proving exit polls wrong, the BJP maintained its lead and widened the gap, heading for a hat-trick despite anti-incumbency.

AAP candidates were trailing behind their rivals from the BJP and Congress in almost all seats.

“No election should be taken lightly. Every election and every seat is tough,” Mr Kejriwal advised.

The former Delhi chief minister had earlier said while campaigning in Haryana that no government could be formed in the state without AAP’s support.

However, the AAP managed to pull off a surprise win in Jammu and Kashmir, where elections were held after a decade. The party’s Mehraj Malik – who had led his party to its first electoral victory in the 2020 local body polls – won the Doda seat today, snatching it from the BJP.

BJP’s Shakti Raj had won the Doda seat in the 2014 election, but the seat has traditionally rotated between the National Conference and the Congress since the first election in 1962.