As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced a major defeat in the Delhi Assembly Election, outgoing Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj became emotional while addressing his supporters and said that he had accepted defeat in the Assembly polls "in the spirit of sportsmanship."

During his speech, the AAP leader briefly turned away from the microphone to compose himself. Overcome with emotion, he confessed that seeing his supporters so moved had profoundly affected him.

Bhardwaj is among the key leaders who lost in their constituencies, including AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal and senior party leader Manish Sisodia. Bhardwaj lost to BJP candidate Shikha Roy by a margin of 3,188 votes. Roy secured 49,594 votes, while Bhardwaj received 46,406. Congress' Garvit Singhvi finished a distant third with 6,711 votes.

The BJP achieved a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, securing 48 out of 70 seats. In contrast, the AAP, which had won 62 seats in 2020 and 67 in 2015, saw its count drop dramatically to just 22. Meanwhile, the Congress failed to win any seats for the third consecutive time.

A video of Bhardwaj speaking to his supporters has gone viral on social media. In the clip, the visibly moved outgoing minister expressed his pride in his team, saying, "Everyone worked very hard, and I am extremely proud of all of you."

He continued, "I was taking it in the spirit of sportsmanship, but when I saw people crying, I became emotional too."

February 8 marked a major shift in the Greater Kailash constituency, where Bhardwaj had secured decisive victories in the 2015 and 2020 elections.

In 2020, he won with a margin of 16,809 votes, receiving 60,372 votes compared to BJP's Shikha Roy, who garnered 43,563 votes. In 2015, his victory margin was 14,583 votes, defeating BJP's Rakesh Kumar Gullaiya.

The BJP is expected to stake its claim to power next week, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return from his overseas trip.