Meet Shikha Roy: BJP's wildcard winner in Greater Kailash who defeated AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj

Three-time winner Saurabh Bharadwaj of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was defeated in Greater Kailash by BJP’s sitting councillor Shikha Roy, who triumphed with a margin of 3,188 votes, in a victory that no one saw coming.

The Greater Kailash constituency, established in 2008 following delimitation, was initially represented by BJP’s VK Malhotra as its first Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA).

However, it soon became a stronghold for AAP, with Bharadwaj securing victories in 2013, 2015, and 2020, including a decisive 16,809-vote win over Roy in 2020.


This time, the outcome was vastly different. Roy emerged victorious, garnering 49,594 votes, while Bharadwaj secured 46,406. In contrast, Congress’ candidate Garvit Singhvi earned 6,711 votes.

Roy, who has served two consecutive terms as the municipal councillor for Greater Kailash, has held significant positions in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), including that of chairperson of the standing committee.

Following her win, Roy expressed her gratitude to the electorate for entrusting the Delhi government to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She remarked, “The government's work will be visible in the coming months, but it will take some time to address the backlogs left by the previous administration.”

Bharadwaj, too, extended his thanks to the AAP volunteers and urged his supporters to remain undeterred by the loss.

“We win big battles by losing the small ones,” he said, encouraging them not to be afraid or disappointed. “As an MLA, we did everything we could for the people. We will carefully analyze the results. Even BJP’s loyalists believed we would win the election, but it is not the right time to comment on that.”

The Greater Kailash constituency is known for its upper-middle-class and middle-class population, residing in upscale colonies such as Greater Kailash I and II, Chittaranjan Park, Panchsheel Park, Asiad Village, Chirag Dilli, and Kailash Colony. It also includes urban villages and a few jhuggi clusters.

(With ToI inputs)