With the early trends suggesting a third term for the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, senior party leader Sanjay Singh said by giving a "massive mandate", people of the national capital have said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not a terrorist but a staunch nationalist.
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party using all its might to wrest power in the national capital, the "son of Delhi" won, he said.
"The two crore families of Delhi have now said that their son Arvind Kejriwal is not a terrorist but a staunch nationalist. I salute the people of Delhi from (for) giving AAP such a massive mandate," Singh said in a tweet.
The AAP leader was referring to remarks made by BJP MP Parvesh Verma at a poll rally. Verma had called Kejriwal a "terrorist" over his alleged support to an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest in south Delhi's Shaheen Bagh.
"Despite BJP leaders putting all their force behind it (election campaign), the son of Delhi won. Amit Shah has been shown that the son of Delhi has won and people of Delhi have voted for development and progress," said Singh, referring to Kejriwal.
People of Delhi have explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate, AAP's prominent face Manish Sisodia said as he clinched victory on the Patparganj seat.
Sisodia, who retained his seat for the third time, said the BJP indulged in "politics of hate", but people refused to be divided.
"I am happy to have won the Patparganj seat again. The BJP indulged in politics of hate, but I thank the people of Patparganj. Today, Delhi's people have chosen a government which works for them and explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate," he told reporters.
Sisodia, who was the Deputy chief minister and led the government's education reforms agenda, defeated BJP's Ravinder Singh Negi by a margin of over 3,500 votes.
The initial trends saw a seasaw battle between Sisodia and Negi.
In 2013, Sisodia had won by a margin of 11,000 votes and in 2015 by over 28,000 votes.
