LIVE | BJP sweeps Delhi elections; people have short-circuited short-cut politics: Modi
The saffron party won 48 seats, while the AAP could muster only 22 of the 70 Assembly seats
The BJP on Saturday (February 8) secured a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, returning to power after 27 years, and ending the Aam Aadmi Party’s decade-long reign in the national capital.
While the BJP won 48 of the 70 Assembly seats, the AAP could secure wins in just 22 constituencies. The Congress on the other hand was left red-faced, unable to open its account in Delhi for the third time in a row.
AAP's vote share dwindles, Congress' rises by 2%
In the 2019 Assembly polls, the AAP had bagged 62 seats while the BJP had won only eight.
The polls saw the BJP’s vote share rise by 7 per cent and the AAP’s fall by 10 per cent. The Congress despite drawing a blank improved its vote share by 2.1 per cent hike by polling 6.34 per cent of the valid votes as against 4.3 per cent in 2020.
What came as a major embarrassment for the AAP was the defeat of its top guns including party chief Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Chief Minister Atishi and three ministers in the outgoing AAP government – Gopal Rai, Mukesh Ahlawat and Imran Hussain – however managed to secure wins, offering a rare consolation for the party.
Modi’s 'AAP-da', 'short-circuit' dig
Hailing the BJP's victory as "historic", Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a stinging attack on the AAP and the Congress, saying the country needs a serious political transformation and not politics of "dhoort-ta (deceit) and moorkhta (foolishness)".
He said the people of Delhi have "short-circuited the politics of short cuts" and asserted that the mandate has made it clear that there's no space for corruption and lies in politics.
Addressing party workers and supporters at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Modi said these 'AAP-da' people came into politics saying that they will change politics but they emerged as "kattar baimaan (most dishonest)".
The prime minister said the people of Delhi have shown the door to 'AAP-da' and now a double-engine government will ensure development at a double speed.
‘Double-speed development for Delhi’
He said Delhiites are celebrating BJP's victory and respite from 'AAP-da', a term he used throughout the campaign to criticise the Aam Aadmi Party's rule.
"People of Delhi today have enthusiasm and satisfaction. There is relief of liberating Delhi from 'AAP-da'. I thank all Delhiites for entrusting their faith in 'Modi ki guarantee'," the prime minister said in his address from BJP headquarters.
"Now Delhi's double-engine government will ensure development at double speed. It is a historic win and not a usual victory as the people of Delhi have shown the door to 'AAP-da'. Delhi has become Aapda-mukt," Modi said.
‘Gold medal in defeat’: PM's swipe at Cong
Training his guns on the Congress, Modi said people have again given a big message to the opposition party and it has secured a "double hat-trick" in the national capital by failing to open account in six elections.
"These people are giving themselves the gold medal in defeat. The truth is that the country is not willing to trust the Congress. I had said the last time that the Congress has become a parasitic party. It drowns and takes down its allies with it," he said.
Modi claimed that the Congress is finishing off its allies one by one and its manner is also very interesting as it steals the issues and language of its coalition partners to dent their vote bank.
Read our election stories here
Delhi elections: BJP upbeat about win; AAP, Cong reject exit polls, flay EC ‘AAP-da’: Day before Delhi voting, Modi targets Kejriwal in Parliament
Decoding Delhi election: Who has edge in high-stakes battle?
Congress promises to bring back glory of Sheila Dikshit's rule in Delhi
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Live Updates
- 8 Feb 2025 6:51 AM GMT
'Yamuna's curse on Arvind Kejriwal'
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said the AAP's impending defeat in Delhi is the "curse of Yamuna" as he hit out at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Kejriwal had alleged that Haryana had poisoned River Yamuna water.
With AAP set to lose the Delhi elections, Tiwari termed it as "Yamuna's curse on Arvind Kejriwal".
"Arvind Kejriwal has betrayed the people of Delhi. Instead of clean water, he started distributing alcohol. He made the lives of contract workers and teachers difficult. He fired bus drivers, stopped pensions, and did not let the people enjoy benefits of Ayushman Bharat," Tiwari told NDTV.
"We will clean the Yamuna in a way that people will visit the shores anytime they want. Yamuna will be turned into one of the best tourist spots, people will take a dip in it, and there will be boats in the river," he added.
- 8 Feb 2025 6:38 AM GMT
Erode East by-poll: DMK maintains lead
In Tamil Nadu's Erode East Assembly by-poll, the ruling DMK secured a lead of over 13,000 votes against actor-politician Seeman's NTK at the end of second round.
According to an official Election Commission update, DMK's V C Chandhirakumar got 15,949 votes against Naam Tamizhar Katchi's (NTK) M K Seethalakshmi, who polled 2328 votes.
The DMK nominee, an ex-MLA was ahead of his NTK rival by 13,621 votes.
A total of 17 rounds of counting is scheduled.
- 8 Feb 2025 6:27 AM GMT
Congress: 'Our responsibility is not making the AAP win'
"The onus of making the AAP win is not on the Congress... we will look for fertile political bastions and try to win these over, and Delhi is a place where we have been in the government for 15 years," Congress party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told NDTV.
"Our responsibility is not making the AAP win. Our responsibility is mounting a spirited campaign and contesting this election (or any other) as strongly as we can," she added.
- 8 Feb 2025 6:23 AM GMT
BJP's Chandrabhanu Paswan ahead in UP's Milkipur by-poll
BJP's Chandrabhanu Paswan was leading by a margin of 22,152 votes against his Samajwadi Party (SP) rival Ajit Prasad after the eighth round of counting for the Milkipur assembly by-poll, according to the Election Commission website.
While Paswan polled 41,752 votes, Ajit Prasad, the son of SP's Faizabad MP Awadesh Prasad, got 19,600 votes.
