New Delhi [India], June 23 : In a sharp rebuke to the ruling BJP, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said in a press conference that the results of the Visavadar and Ludhiana West by-elections indicate that people are "fed up with the BJP".
Speaking after the results, Kejriwal underlined that despite the BJP being in power in Gujarat and wielding control over state administration and election machinery, voters had decisively backed AAP.
"It is said that the ruling party always wins the by-elections, but in Gujarat, the BJP is in power and also holds on to the administration and machinery; despite that, if the people have given us votes and we won by a double margin, it shows that people are fed up with the BJP," he said.
Kejriwal recalled that while AAP had won the Visavadar seat in the February elections, the party's MLA later defected to the BJP, triggering the bypoll.
"In February elections, we won the Visavadar seat, but our MLA left the party and joined the BJP... But today, we have won both the seats (including Ludhiana West) with a double margin," he said
Kejriwal added, "We won Ludhiana West as well, and it shows that people are happy with our work..."
Gopal Italia, who secured the Visavadar seat for AAP in the by-election, defeated BJP's Kirit Patel by a margin of 17,554 votes. The seat had fallen vacant after Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai's resignation.
Reacting to the results, AAP's Gujarat president Isudan Gadhvi hailed the win as a mandate from the common people -- including farmers, labourers and unemployed youth -- and declared it a signal that AAP was on its way to becoming the main challenger to the BJP in the state.
"This is the beginning of a new era in Gujarat politics. It is not the Congress but AAP that will challenge the BJP and form the government in 2027," Gadhvi asserted.
Meanwhile, the party's Delhi unit also celebrated the win. Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj called the twin victories a "massive" achievement and a "terrific bounce back," underscoring that despite recent challenges, the party continues to enjoy strong public support in several regions.
AAP Gujarat also thanked voters in a post on X, stating, "Many thanks to the people of Visavadar, Bhensan and Junagadh villages for choosing the politics of work of Aam Aadmi Party."