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While the BJP won 48 seats in the 70-member legislative assembly, the incumbent AAP secured only 22 seats after the high of 62 in the 2020 polls, even as the Congress failed to open its account for the third consecutive time
With Delhi slipping away, the fragmented opposition INDIA bloc has been dented further, while the BJP and its allies will go into the Bihar elections later this year with boosted confidence. (File image: PTI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scripted a stunning victory in the Delhi assembly polls as results came in on Saturday, snatching power in the national capital after about three decades and unseating the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
While the BJP won 48 seats in the 70-member legislative assembly, AAP secured only 22 seats after the high of 62 in the 2020 polls, even as the Congress was left empty-handed for the third consecutive time.
A party that wins at least 36 seats can form the government.
Kejriwal, Sisodia lose
The biggest upsets for AAP included top leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia losing in the New Delhi and Jangpura constituencies, respectively. Incumbent chief minister Atishi managed to scrape through in the Kalkaji constituency after a close fight with the BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri.
“The people’s decision is paramount. I congratulate the BJP on its victory and I hope that it lives up to the hopes and expectations of the people who have given them a majority,” said former CM Kejriwal, who lost to the BJP’s Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, being seen by some as a chief ministerial probable.
Elections for the 70 seats of the Delhi assembly were held on February 5. A voter turnout of over 60 per cent was recorded in the single-phase polls.
Most exit polls had given the BJP an edge over AAP.
Era of shortcut politics ended: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the victory of the BJP is a win of “Vikas, Vision, and Vishwas”. “I thank the people of Delhi. Delhi has given us love wholeheartedly, and I once again assure the people that we will return you double the love in the form of development,” he said.
He said that the voters of Delhi have made it clear that the “real maalik” of the city are people. There is no space for shortcuts, fraud, and lies in the politics of Delhi, the PM added.
“Today the people of Delhi have made it clear: the real owners of Delhi are only the people of Delhi. Those who thought of being the owners of Delhi have been confronted with the truth. This is also clear from the mandate of Delhi that there is no place for shortcuts and lies in politics. The people have ended the era of shortcut politics,” said PM Modi.
The BJP’s vote share jumped to nearly 46 per cent, while AAP’s fell to 43.5 per cent. The saffron party’s vote share grew from over 32 per cent in 2015 to 38.5 per cent in 2020 against AAP’s over 54 per cent and 53.5 per cent, respectively.
BJP’s campaign strategies
Observers say caste dynamics as well as the performance of the Congress in at least 14 seats, where it hacked into AAP’s vote share, could be among the reasons behind the BJP’s win.
With a focused campaign featuring leaders from across the country, including chief ministers, union ministers, and NDA constituents, the BJP reached the grassroots while highlighting key issues such as corruption, subpar roads, irregular water supply, air pollution, and non-functional mohalla clinics.
AAP battled ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and liquor scam charges
The BJP and Congress’s “Sheesh Mahal” jibes, referring to the renovated chief minister’s residence when Kejriwal was in office, seemed to have resonated with voters. According to some news reports, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) found that the preliminary estimate for the renovation was Rs 7.91 crore, which rose to 8.62 crore when work was awarded in 2020, and had jumped to Rs 33.66 crore by the time the project was completed in 2022.
The AAP government also faced a barrage of attacks over the corruption allegations surrounding Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy. Probes by central agencies led to the arrest of top leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh, which kept AAP in firefighting mode throughout its third term.
Boost for BJP and allies, INDIA bloc dented further
After “surprise” wins in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections late last year, the Delhi verdict cements BJP’s electoral record following a reduced mandate in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
With Delhi slipping away, the fragmented opposition INDIA bloc has been dented further, while the BJP and its allies will go into the Bihar elections later this year with boosted confidence.
