New Delhi: "If somebody is formidable in this seat, it happens to be Meenakshi Lekhi and no one else," the BJP MP from New Delhi had said in an exclusive interview with the Millennium Post while on the campaign trail leading up to the general elections this year.
With the Lok Sabha election results coming out on Thursday, Lekhi's words could not be truer. The incumbent MP was re-elected to the lower house of parliament in a landslide victory that saw her winning with a margin of over 2.55 lakh votes and a vote share of 54.77 percent.
Lekhi thanked party workers and supporters while recieving her winner certificate on Friday morning and posted a photo with it on Twitter.
She also greeted hundreds of supporters at her home later in the day, who had arrived to congratulate her and celebrate the victory over her opponents. She thanked the supporters and spent time with them reveling in the joy of her stupendous victory.
Outdoing herself this year, Lekhi managed to increase her vote share by almost eight percentage points compared to her performance in 2014 and her victory margin saw an increase of almost one lakh votes.
The BJP MP said that this result sends out a clear message to everyone in the country that the people of New Delhi have reposed their faith in Narendra Modi by voting for her in large numbers.
In addition to crediting Modi for her win, she said, "This massive victory is the result of continuous efforts of our government towards the development of the nation."
Speaking to the Millennium Post in the run-up to the polls in Delhi this year, Lekhi had said that she will stress on working towards bringing smart solutions for garbage disposals in her constituency and work towards making New Delhi completely free of open defecation.
Lekhi famously campaigned on national issues, picking up on themes of nationalism and development. While she seems devoted to bringing development by going beyond party lines if that's what it takes, it remains to be seen what more she can do with the monumental mandate she has recieved in 2019.