Leading publications across the world called it a ‘stunning’ defeat and setback for Narendra Modi’s party amid a polarising campaign. (Express photo)

With the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) returning to power in Delhi for a third stint in the government following a massive mandate in the Assembly elections, where it bagged 62 of the 70 seats, leading publications across the world called it a “stunning” defeat and setback for Narendra Modi’s party amid a polarising campaign.

In its report titled ‘Modi’s party concedes defeat in Delhi after polarising campaign’, The Guardian called BJP’s campaign “one of its most polarising yet”. “The defeat constitutes another setback for Modi’s party, which faces the worst unrest in more than four decades,” the report said.

“Much of AAP’s popularity is centred on its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, once a self-confessed anarchist and anti-corruption activist, who has been highly critical of the BJP government during his time as Delhi chief minister,” The Guardian report said.

Meanwhile, the New York Times, in a report titled ‘In bitter Delhi election, Modi’s party suffers a setback’, said while BJP pitted the country’s “Hindu majority against its minorities”, AAP “championed religious coexistence and diversity while playing up its own Hindu credentials”.

“Modi’s party’s main strategy was to relentlessly focus on issues of sectarian identity, doubling down on the citizenship law and other Hindu-centric initiatives rather than on issues specific to the capital city,” the NYT report said.

The headlines of NYT, Washington Post and The Guardian

Another US daily, The Washington Post, headlined its report as ‘Stunning defeat for Modi’s party in New Delhi elections’. The report mentioned that Modi’s BJP was handed a stunning defeat by a regional party AAP, whose “pro-poor policies focused on fixing state-run schools and providing cheap electricity, free health care and bus transport for women”.

“…elections in the national capital were seen as a referendum on his policies, including a new national citizenship law that excludes Muslims,” the Washington Post report said.

The report of Al-Jazeera, a Middle East publication, also centred around BJP’s divisive poll campaign not paying off in the face of Kejriwal’s pro-poor policies.

“The BJP had run an aggressive campaign, using the election to rally support for a controversial nationality law that eases citizenship rules for non-Muslim minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the report, titled ‘Kejriwal’s AAP stuns Modi’s BJP with huge win’, said.