AAP on verge of extinction, says BJP after Rajouri by-poll win

New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Elated by its victory in Delhi's Rajouri Garden assembly by-polls, the BJP on Thursday said that people had given AAP a fitting gift by defeating it and the party was on the verge of extinction.

Reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party's win, spokesperson Sambit Patra said that people had lost faith in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

"Earlier they... lost Punjab and Goa assembly polls and today's (Thursday's) result of the Rajouri Garden assembly by-poll is like the last nail in the coffin for AAP. It is on the verge of extinction," Patra said.

Patra also tweeted: "AAP and Kejriwal have not just lost their deposit, they have (also) lost their credibility."

BJP's Manjinder Singh Sirsa won the Rajouri Garden seat.

Patra said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal never thought about welfare of the Delhi people.

"Neglecting Delhi people, Kejriwal went to Punjab and Goa for assembly elections. Now the residents of Delhi have neglected him," Parta told reporters.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh while reacting to BJP's win in the Rajouri Garden by-polls said, "BJP is on a winning spree and we also are going to perform well in the upcoming municipal elections in Delhi."

He said that his party's leadership has the "capacity to devote itself to people."

Sirsa defeated his nearest rival Meenakshi Chandela of the Congress by a margin of nearly 14,000 votes, pushing the ruling AAP's candidate to a distant third, according to the Election Commission.

Sirsa polled 40,602 votes, Chandela 25,950 and the AAP's Harjeet Singh 10,243 out of a total 78,091 votes cast during poll on Sunday, the Election Commission said after the final round of counting.