Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that 鈥榙evelopment had won鈥� as his Hindu nationalist party took back control of the capital province Delhi in local elections.
鈥楧evelopment has won, good governance has won,鈥� Modi said after the city鈥檚 former chief minister鈥攁 key opposition leader to the PM鈥攃onfirmed having lost his seat.
Modi鈥檚 Bharatiya Janata Party is in government in the national parliament but has not controlled the local legislature in the capital Delhi since 1998, so it is a symbolic and strategically important victory.
鈥榃e will leave no stone unturned in ensuring the overall development of Delhi and making the lives of residents better,鈥� Modi said in a post on social media.
Arvind Kejriwal lost his seat to Modi鈥檚 BJP, according to election commission results, reflecting wider damaging losses by the Aam Aadmi Party. Kejriwal鈥檚 AAP had governed the sprawling megacity of more than 30 million people for most of the past decade.
鈥榃e accept the verdict and congratulate the BJP,鈥� Kejriwal said in a video statement.
Chanting BJP supporters danced for joy outside its New Delhi headquarters as vote results from Wednesday鈥檚 election were counted, waving flags and posters of Modi.
Counting continues but the BJP had secured seats well past the majority mark, according to the election commission, with the party set to take around two-thirds of the 70-seat assembly.
鈥極ur victory is a sign of the people鈥檚 faith in prime minister Modi鈥檚 vision of progress,鈥� interior minister and BJP stalwart Amit Shah said in a statement.
鈥楾he Delhi mandate shows that people can鈥檛 be misled with lies every time.鈥�
Kejriwal, who rode to power as an anti-corruption crusader a decade ago, spent several months behind bars last year over accusations his party took kickbacks in exchange for liquor licences, along with several fellow party leaders.
He has denied wrongdoing and characterised the charges as a political witch hunt by Modi鈥檚 government.
He was one of the key pillars of an opposition bloc formed ahead of India鈥檚 general elections last year, when the BJP suffered significant losses despite holding on to power.
Kejriwal鈥檚 defeat in his Delhi stronghold puts the BJP 鈥榖ack in a very strong position鈥�, said Rahul Verma of the Centre for Policy Research think tank in New Delhi.
鈥楴ow it seems what happened in the general elections was a temporary lapse,鈥� Verma said. 鈥楢nd it has put AAP in a difficult position going ahead.鈥�
Despite hectic weeks-long campaigning, little was said about Delhi鈥檚 crippling air pollution crisis, which smothers the city for months in hazardous fumes.
New Delhi is regularly ranked the worst capital in the world for choking smog, which often surges as much as 60 times the World Health Organization鈥檚 recommended daily maximum.
Years of piecemeal government initiatives have failed to measurably address the problem, with the smog blamed for thousands of premature deaths annually and particularly affecting the health of children and the elderly.