The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to retake Delhi after 27 years of exile, uprooting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the Delhi Assembly elections. The outcome shows a huge swing in Delhi’s politics with the BJP leading on 45 of the 70 seats, a shocking recovery from the single-digit tally it had pocketed in the 2020 elections. The Party which had dominated the political scene of Delhi for the last decade, AAP is now trailing behind.
BJP’s last victory of the Delhi Assembly election was held in 1993. It won the election with a clear majority and also formed the government with Sushma Swaraj as CM. Since that time, the AAP has also become the leader of the assembly, winning both in 2013, in 2015, and lastly in the year 2020.
The party could only win 2 seats and lead in 21. Congress which once was a goliath here could not even make any rejoicing success on the electoral field and is poised to draw a blank for the third time in a row.
AAP Leaders Key Defeats
The general election saw AAP’s top leaders suffer major upsets as BJP contenders defeated them.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Loss in New Delhi
The New Delhi seat, held by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal since 2013, was defeated with major sway by BJP candidate Parvesh Verma. The former civil servant lost the election, trailing behind for most of the vote count with a margin of 3,182 votes. This also marked a severe setback to his closely tied political career that has been in interrelation with AAP’s victories in Delhi.
Manish Sisodia Concedes Defeat in Jangpura
Other heavy losses include that AAP’s erstwhile Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia admitted defeat at Jangpura as his party member could not even muster half of BJP candidate Tarvinder Singh Marwah’s vote count and had fallen back by 600 votes after nine rounds of counting. “We fell short by 600 votes. Hope they [BJP] will focus on the progress and welfare of the people,” said Sisodia in his concession speech.
Atishi wins in Kalkaji
Although AAP chiefs in many other places lost the polls, Chief Minister Atishi, who took the position of Chief Minister as a result of Kejriwal’s arrest, held onto her seat at Kalkaji as she trounced BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri. Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, on the other hand, who led the Greater Kailash early, trailed the BJP candidate eventually.
Avadh Ojha surrenders at Patparganj
The candidate of AAP from Patparganj, Avadh Ojha, who replaced Manish Sisodia, also failed to win in the election by over 21,000 votes against BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi. “It’s my defeat. I couldn’t connect to people. I’ll meet the people and will contest the next election from here,” Ojha said in his statement.
Election Turnout and Transparency Concerns
The Delhi Assembly election held on February 5 witnessed a voter turnout of 60.54%, a decline of about 2.5 percentage points from the previous election in 2020. Mustafabad recorded the highest turnout at 69.01%, while Mehrauli had the lowest at 53.02%.
On the response to the election, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal questioned the clarity of the voting data. As a result, the office of the Chief Election Officer, Delhi released the voting turnout figures on the ECI Voter Turnout App, while AAP made a separate website available where it published the figures for access by the voters.
Exit Polls and BJP’s Predicted Victory
Exit polls had predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP, a party that had not won a majority in Delhi since 1993. While some exit polls predicted a close contest between BJP and AAP, others suggested a comfortable win for BJP, with projections estimating the party to win between 35 and 49 seats. In contrast, analysts expected AAP to win only 21 to 37 seats, a sharp decline from its 62-seat victory in 2020.
The Congress, which had been fighting to get back into step in the national capital, was likely to win up to three seats, without making much of a dent.
Campaigns and Accusations
AAP, facing anti-incumbency and allegations of corruption, focused its campaign on its record of governance with a welfare message. BJP zeroed in on allegations of misgovernance and corruption with a case in the excise policy. Politics boiled over as AAP targeted the BJP-led Haryana government for “poisoning Yamuna water” as campaigning reached a close.
As the results continue to unravel, the return of the BJP to power in Delhi after 27 years is becoming a reality. While AAP’s dominance in the capital seems to have crumbled, the results highlight a turbulent period ahead for the party, which faces the challenge of rebuilding its image after the election defeat.
