New Delhi:
Sheila Dikshit resigned as chief minister of Delhi after her party's scorching defeat this morning. "Bewakoof hain na (we are idiots, right?)" she snapped at reporters who asked if the Congress had failed to read the mood of the city it has governed for 15 years.
Voters turned away from the Congress and to the newly-formed Aam Aadmi Party (AP), headed by
Arvind Kejriwal, a former tax inspector and anti-corruption campaigner.
Ms Dikshit, 75, had sought a fourth straight term as chief minister. Her party was left with barely 10 of the city's 70 assembly seats; Ms Dikshit lost to Mr Kejriwal, 44, in her constituency of New Delhi.
Just days before, Ms Dikshit had denounced the AAP as "a group of broom-wielding men from Ghaziabad."
That proved to be a gross miscalculation.
The record 65.86 percent turnout in Delhi was driven considerably by an enthusiasm for the entry of a new party, analysts said, one that connected with voters through its promise to reboot politics to delete corruption and deliver accountability.