Arvind Kejriwal On "Biggest Lesson" From Haryana Elections

As the BJP galloped towards a huge win in Haryana, pulling off an unexpected turnaround, Arvind Kejriwal said Tuesday that the "biggest lesson" from the results was that one should never be overconfident. 

Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party or AAP, going it alone on 89 seats, failed to open its account in the state.

The BJP, defying exit poll predictions, is set for a record third straight term in Haryana. It is leading in 50 of the 90 seats.

"Let us see what the results are in Haryana. The biggest lesson of this is that one should never be overconfident in the elections," Mr Kejriwal told a gathering of the AAP municipal councillors.

Many also saw his words as a swipe at the Congress, which halted its premature victory celebrations in Haryana soon as the leads flipped. 

The Congress, AAP's INDIA alliance partner at the national level, slipped to the second position after racing to the top in the first hour. Proving exit polls wrong, the BJP maintained its lead and widened the gap, staying on course for a hat-trick despite anti-incumbency.

AAP candidates were trailing on almost all the seats behind their BJP and Congress opponents.

"No election should be taken lightly. Each election and each seat is tough," Mr Kejriwal advised.

The former Delhi Chief Minister had earlier, while campaigning in Haryana, asserted that no government could be formed in the state without AAP's support.

AAP, however, managed to spring a surprise win in Jammu and Kashmir, where polls were held after a decade. The party's Mehraj Malik, who handed his party a first-ever election win in 2020 local body polls - won the Doda seat today, wresting it from the BJP.

The BJP's Shakti Raj won Doda in the 2014 election, but the seat has traditionally flipped between the National Conference and the Congress since the first poll in 1962.