New Delhi, Feb 8: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 11 out of the 15 Assembly seats in South Delhi, as early counting trends show the party surging well ahead of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the national Capital.

These 15 Assembly seats comprise the 10 segments of the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency along with the New Delhi, Greater Kailash, RK Puram, Malviya Nagar, and Karturba Nagar seats.

The BJP is shown to be in the lead in several constituencies, including Bijwasan, Chhatarpur, Kalkaji, RK Puram, Kasturba Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Palam, and Malviya Nagar.

Key contestants include BJP candidates Kailash Gahlot from Bijwasan, Ramesh Bidhuri from Kalkaji, Sikha Rai from Greater Kailash, Anil Kumar from RK Puram, Neeraj Basoya from Kasturba Nagar, and Satish Upadhyay from Malviya Nagar, all of whom are reported to be leading.

Among the key constituencies, Kalkaji stands out where the BJP is ahead while Chief Minister Atishi, the AAP candidate, is pitted against former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress candidate Alka Lamba.

Another significant contest is unfolding in Greater Kailash, traditionally a stronghold of Delhi minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, where the AAP has fallen behind. Meanwhile, Malviya Nagar, represented by AAP leader Somnath Bharati, also appears to have swung in favour of the BJP this time.

In the New Delhi constituency, where AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal is contesting, the fight has turned into a see-saw battle; Kejriwal, who was trailing in the initial rounds, has now taken the lead.

Another key figure in South Delhi is former minister Kailash Gahlot contesting from the Bijwasan seat. Gahlot, once a prominent leader in the AAP, switched allegiance to the BJP last year, citing the unfulfilled promises of the Arvind Kejriwal government.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the AAP won 14 out of these 15 seats, making the current setback in South Delhi even more striking as it comes against the backdrop of massive gains for the BJP in the capital contest.

By 10 am, two hours into the counting process, the BJP was leading in 44 out of 70 seats, while the AAP lagged behind with leads in only 25 seats. Current trends indicate that the BJP has gained over 40 seats, crossing the halfway mark.

After being reduced to single-digit seat counts in the 2015 and 2020 elections, the Opposition party has mounted a strong comeback, making massive gains in the capital as it now marches confidently toward victory.

--IANS

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