Delhi Election result live: With 28 seats, is AAP making BJP nervous? *by **Ayeshea Perera* <http://www.firstpost.com/author/ayeshea-perera>
*8.00 pm: Delhi final numbers out - AAP bags 28, BJP 32, Congress just 8* Whoever had any doubt about the magnitude of AAP's intervention in the established political discourses of Delhi, the numbers are a telling indicator of the predominant mood of the city-state. The Aam Aadmi Party, which even the conservative exit polls suggested, will not get more than 15-16 seats, swept over 28 constituencies. BP was up ahead by just 4 seats and Congress was limited to merely eight. It is interesting to note here that with the show in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal's party has finally started talking about a plunge into national politics. Making it obvious that they will fight the the general elections tooth and nail, AAP has now managed to rub the BJP in more wrong ways than one. In fact during an NDTV discussion moderated by the Sreenivasan Jain, a BJP representative lashed out at AAP and Prashant Bhushan who was on the show warning them to show humility. Then he went on to warn him of the consequences of coming into Modi's way. "The anti-Congress mandate is clear. All surveys have showed Narendra Modi is way ahead of Arvind Kejriwal as a preferred Prime Ministerial candidate. So if AAP doesn't respect that, the people will reject them. What they do - the wire cutting gimmicks - is exciting, but it isn't governance," hollered the BJP spokesperson. As the day progresses with BJP not managing to clinch a majority and the possibility of a hung parliament looming large on the party, the panic seems to be showing cracks in the demeanor of the BJP leaders. A seasoned politician like Arun Jaitley, too turned up in a NDTV discussion and took to a tone that qualifies as bullying as he chastised the AAP for not willing to ally with either the Congress and the BJP. "You're an insider already and you're still positioning yourself as an outsider. What does that even mean? It means that you are embarrassed to be a part of a government in the fear of being criticized. What kind of politics is that," Arun Jaitley said angrily. It is important here to point out that BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi himself takes on the 'outsider' avatar in his relentless Congress-bashing. Despite being the three-time chief minister from a fairly prosperous state and an unquestionable member of the country's political elite, Modi keeps harping on his beginning as a tea-seller's son and how that should be a reason why the voters should identify with him, the 'other', in contrast to Congress' dynastic politics. Jaitley went to to bash up AAP further by saying that in politics one needs to take some caustic decisions at the cost of idealism and for the sake of pragmatism. Prashant Bhushan of the AAP countered BJP's claim and said, "We are not just an alternative political party. We are trying to give the country an alternative brand of politics. How can we gang up with the same people, whose politics we have condemned? People are fed up of the duplicity and communalism of the BJP and Congress, hence they voted for us." Yogendra Yadav too countered Jaitley's assertion that AAP is embarrassed to form a government with a set of clear facts. Firstly, AAP's pitch for the longest time has been cleansing Delhi of old political traditions. Now the only possible way of 'cleansing' the politics would be by forming the government. In fact, the party had perennially been desiring a clean sweep and Arvind Kejriwal also appeared in television shows saying that his party is all set to 'sweep' Delhi. It is only juvenile to try asserting then that the AAP doesn't want the responsibility of governance because they have refused to ally with the BJP and rejected the possibility of Congress' outside support. Echoing the same, Yogendra Yadav said that while the city has given them a moral mandate, it has not given them a clear majority. In such a situation, AAP is technically not in a position to form the government. "Actually, I can throw the suggestion back to Mr Jaitley. Why doesn't BJP ally with Congress and lead the government? If they can say, 'how can we do it', why can't we say the same too? People who have voted for us have done so because they are wary of the same corrupt political traditions. We can't do some backdoor deal with any of them," he declared. *7.20 pm: Next mission is Lok Sabha 2014, says AAP* The Aam Aadmi Party issued a statement congratulating its volunteers, its leaders and the general public for its spectacular show in Delhi. "Who are we? We are common people. We are no big fish. Still we have felled such big politicians. This goes on to show that when the common man revolts, the biggest thrones get shaken up," he said. In a statement they consequently issued, the AAP said: "This historic vote places enormous responsibility on the AAP. We wish to assure the citizens of Delhi that AAP shall not take part in any political wheeling-dealing that might ensue following this “hung verdict”. We have made a solemn promise to the voters of Delhi that we shall neither seek nor offer support to any part of the corrupt political establishment of the country. We wish to reiterate that the Delhi election is only the first step in our political journey. We are here to challenge the political establishment throughout the country. Our next mission would be to offer a genuine political alternative in the Lok Sabha elections 2014." Time for Narendra Modi to think up a quick combat strategy?
