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
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Live Updates
- 8 Feb 2025 2:41 PM GMT
#WATCH | #DelhiElectionResults | BJP's winning candidate from the Jangpura assembly constituency, BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah says, "...The public of Delhi has bestowed their trust on PM Modi's guarantees..." pic.twitter.com/t28kyApZLi
— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2025 - 8 Feb 2025 2:28 PM GMT
‘Shameless, insecure’: How Kejriwal’s former comrades commented on AAP’s defeat
The Aam Aadmi Party's loss in the Delhi polls triggered sharp reactions from Arvind Kejriwal's former colleagues in the party and in the 2011 India Against Corruption movement who blamed his "shift" from the idea of providing an alternative politics for the defeat.
They also accused Kejriwal of shattering the dreams of those who supported the anti-graft movement.
Here is who said what:
Anna Hazare:
“The liquor policy issue came money and they drowned in it. The (AAP's) image was tarnished. People saw him (Arvind Kejriwal) talking about clean character and then about liquor," Hazare told reporters in Ralegan Siddhi village.
Hazare led the 2011 anti-corruption movement for a Jan Lokpal bill that brought the then ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to the negotiation table blamed the liquor scam for AAP's defeat.
Hazare, who was against forming a political party, parted ways with his protege Kejriwal after he formed the AAP in 2012 following the movement.
Hazare said AAP failed to understand the need to serve people selflessly and took the wrong path. "Money took the front seat which dented AAP's image, leading to its defeat," he added.
"I have been saying this since the beginning that when one contests polls, the candidate's character should be clean and spotless. The candidate should know the virtues of sacrifice and should have the capacity to tolerate insults," he said, adding that when allegations crop up, it is necessary to tell the people that these charges are wrong.
Yogendra Yadav:
Swaraj India party co-founder and psephologist Yogendra Yadav, one of the founding members of AAP who was expelled from the party in 2015 along with Prashant Bhushan, termed the party's loss a setback for all those who dreamt of alternative politics.
"This is a setback not just for the AAP but all those who dreamt of alternative politics in this country 10-12 years ago. It is a setback for all the parties which supported AAP and for the entire opposition in the country," Yadav told PTI.
Yadav claimed the AAP gave up on alternative politics soon (after coming to power) and got restricted to welfare schemes that reached a saturation point.
Kumar Vishwas
Poet-politician Kumar Vishwas, who was with the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement and one of the founding members of AAP, said he was happy and at the same time sad over the party's loss.
He blamed Kejriwal for "destroying" the dreams of thousands who wanted a corruption-free country. "Sad because 13 years ago, a wave of political renaissance had swept across India in which seeds of alternative politics were hidden," Vishwas said.
In a no-holds-barred attack on Kejriwal, he said, "A shameless, narcissistic, insecure person played the part of Duryodhan and caused this downfall."
"This is their first defeat. For the crime of murdering the dreams of crores of innocent people, they will be punished," Vishwas said and urged the AAP workers to "think about their future since there is no way for the party to bounce back."
Swati Maliwal
Former Delhi Commission for Women chief and Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who had also been a part of the anti-corruption movement and left AAP last year after allegedly being beaten up at the residence of Kejriwal, said people have punished the party for its arrogance.
"Nobody's arrogance lasts forever. What happened in Delhi today is the proof," she told PTI.
"The people of Delhi saw how the city turned into a garbage bin. People are not getting water, Yamuna is dirty, and air pollution is high. There was anger among people... I kept telling them to change or people will change them, and that happened," she said.
"In the last 10 years, they showed people dreams but could not fulfil those and had to pay for that. The former chief minister lost. They got me beaten up, slandered me; today people taught him a lesson and he could not save his own seat," Maliwal said.
Shazia Ilmi
Shazia Ilmi, another founder member of the party who quit and went to the BJP in 2014, said those who gathered in the Ramlila ground for the anti-corruption movement had dreamt of a new kind of politics.
"I am absolutely delighted and also emotional. All of us gathered in the Ramlila ground wanted a new kind of politics. But what did Delhi see? It got a charlatan who brought Delhi down," she said.
Slamming Kejriwal, she said, "This is a man who actually caused a loss of Rs 260 crore to the exchequer, this is the man who lived in 'Sheesh Mahal', and this is the man who became AAPda (disaster) himself... finally Delhi will see some peace, work and development," she said.
Anjali Damania
Activist Anjali Damania, who was the convener of the Maharashtra unit of AAP and quit the party in 2015, refused to comment.
"Today, the Aam Aadmi Party faced defeat. An ideology was defeated. I request the media, please do not call me for reactions. I will not speak on this matter," she said.
The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years, sweeping away the AAP from the national capital in another big win to extend its saffron footprint in the country.
- 8 Feb 2025 2:17 PM GMT
Differences in INDIA block paved way for BJP's victory, say CPI(M), IUML
With the BJP getting ready to form the government in Delhi after more than 26 years, the CPI(M) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday expressed strong disappointment and said the differences in the INDIA block paved way for the saffron party's good show in the national capital.
Both the CPI(M) and the IUML are part of the INDI Alliance.
The Marxist party vehemently attacked the Congress and accused them of facilitating the victory of the BJP in Delhi.
The IUML, however, opted not to directly criticise the grand-old party, but made it clear that if the partners of the INDI Alliance fought the election unitedly, they could have successfully resisted the saffron party from coming into power.
When his reaction was sought, senior CPI(M) leader and the convenor of the ruling LDF, T P Ramakrishnan alleged that the Congress didn't support well for the effective functioning of the INDIA block.
"There was no support from the side of the Congress. If the party had taken the initiative, the alliance could have functioned more effectively. But, the grand old party didn't fulfill their responsibility," he told reporters here.
While answering a question, he said the presence of the Left is weak in a state like Delhi and if anyone who could do something there it was the Congress.
Accusing the Congress, he said the party did not adopt a favourable stand in taking the INDI Alliance together and united. "They adopted a stand facilitating the BJP to come to power in New Delhi," Ramakrishnan alleged.
CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan also shared similar views and alleged that the stand adopted by the Congress party to defeat the AAP was the reason for the BJP's victory in Delhi.
"The Congress is responsible for the BJP's victory. If the Congress and the AAP had stood together, there would have been 50 per cent votes," he told a press conference here.
Instead of forming an extensive anti-BJP front, the top leaders of the Congress party, including Rahul Gandhi, tried to criticise the AAP and ensure its defeat, he said.
The INDIA block suffered a huge blow because of this stand adopted by the grand-old party, Govindan alleged.
While reacting to the BJP's victory in the Delhi polls, veteran IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty said it would not have happened if the partners in the INDI Alliance stood united.
He said that the BJP has no strong vote base to come to power in any Indian state and it used to survive by making use of the differences among secular parties.
The difference in the INDIA block, a coalition of secular parties, helped the saffron party in the Delhi polls also, he said.
If everyone in the alliance stood together, the result would have been different, Kunhalikutty said.
When asked about whether it was the Congress which was the reason for the lack of unity in the opposition alliance, the IUML veteran, however, said there was no point in blaming a single party for the poll outcome.
"Everyone in the alliance should discuss this matter and evaluate the poll results," he said, adding that immediate steps should be taken not to repeat such things in future.
The circumstances in each state is different and the INDIA block should be able to overcome such differences to protect the Constitution of the country, Kunhalikutty added.
