The Federal
Delhi Assembly elections
x
PM Modi and BJP chief JP Nadda showered with confetti as they arrive at the BJP headquarters in Delhi to celebrate the party’s win in the Delhi Assembly elections. Photo: PTI

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 Federal
8 Feb 2025 1:46 AM GMT  (Updated:2025-02-08 15:31:42)

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

Follow this space for more live updates

Live Updates

2025-02-08 01:46:55
  • 8 Feb 2025 2:03 PM GMT

    Modi's dig at Congress

  • 8 Feb 2025 2:00 PM GMT

    Atishi's message to Kalkaji voters

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:50 PM GMT

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:49 PM GMT

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:47 PM GMT

    Modi thanks the people of Purvanchal

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:46 PM GMT

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:30 PM GMT

    CM Atishi, 3 ministers save AAP's grace amid BJP wave as Kejriwal, Sisodia fall

    Amid the BJP's sweeping victory in the Delhi Assembly polls, Chief Minister Atishi and three ministers in the outgoing AAP government -- Gopal Rai, Mukesh Ahlawat and Imran Hussain -- managed to secure wins on Saturday, offering a rare consolation for the party as its big guns, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, suffered defeats.

    Atishi emerged victorious in Kalkaji, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Ramesh Bidhuri by a margin of 3,521 votes. A key strategist for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Atishi's win stands out as one of the few success stories for the party.

    In Babarpur, Rai retained his seat with a margin of 18,994 votes over BJP's Anil Kumar Vashisht. The environment minister in the outgoing government, Rai is a three-time MLA from the constituency. He managed to hold on despite the AAP's overall poor performance.

    Ahlawat secured victory in Sultanpur Majra, defeating BJP's Karam Singh Karma by 17,126 votes. Ahlawat, who served as a minister in the previous AAP government, maintained his stronghold in the reserved constituency, one of the few where the Kejriwal-led party performed well.

    Hussain, the food and civil supplies minister, won from Ballimaran with the highest margin among the AAP's prominent faces, defeating BJP's Kamal Bagri by 29,823 votes. Hussain's victory provided one of the few bright spots for the AAP in the Old Delhi region.

    Meanwhile, in a high-stakes battle in the New Delhi constituency, BJP's Parvesh Verma defeated Kejriwal by 4,089 votes, securing 30,088 votes against the AAP supremo's 25,999. In Jangpura, Sisodia lost to BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah by just 675 votes, while minister Saurabh Bharadwaj was defeated by BJP's Shikha Roy in Greater Kailash by 3,188 votes.

    With leads in 48 of the 70 seats, the BJP is set to reclaim power in Delhi after more than 26 years, while the AAP, reduced to 22 seats, faces a major setback. The Congress remains on track for its third consecutive electoral washout in the capital. 

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:28 PM GMT

    What worked for BJP, what against AAP

    The BJP swept to power in the national capital after a gap of more than 26 years, trouncing the formidable challenge from the AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal.

    AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain lost their respective assembly seats, BJP leader Parvesh Sahib Singh emerged as the giant killer as he defeated former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

    Here is what worked for the BJP and what worked against the AAP in the Delhi Assembly elections.

    What Worked for the BJP:

    * A focussed campaign featuring leaders from across the country – chief ministers, Union ministers and NDA constituents reached out to specific regional groups in the national capital.

    *Freebies offered by AAP were countered by "Modi's guarantee," which appeared to find favour with voters.

    *Substantial ground work by RSS and like-minded organisations.

    *Wooing the middle class with announcements of income tax relief in the Union Budget.

    *BJP ran a localised campaign highlighting civic issues such as lack of roads, irregular water supply, air pollution, and non-functional mohalla clinics.

    What worked against AAP?

    * The contradictions in its promises of being against corruption and belief in an austere lifestyle laid bare by the charges of lavish living of conventional political leaders.

    *Attrition of 'Brand Kejriwal' as charges of corruption and the allegations of liquor scam appeared to stick. He and several of his ministers were jailed in the liquor scam.

    *Constant confrontation with the Centre over various issues of governance.

    *Lack of civic amenities and perceived failure to come good on promises of good healthcare and education harmed the party.

    *Better performance by Congress in at least 14 seats ate into AAP's vote share, leading to the defeat of its candidates. The Congress and AAP were coalition partners in the Lok Sabha elections.

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:22 PM GMT

  • 8 Feb 2025 1:21 PM GMT

    Vote margins

    Constituency 1)

    Badli – BJP – Aheer Deepak Chaudhary -- 61192,

    AAP – Ajesh Yadav -- 46029,

    Congress – Devender Yadav 41071.

    Margin – 15163

    2) Chhattarpur –

    BJP – Virender Kadian -- 80469,

    AAP – Bhvan Tanwar -- 74230,

    Congress – Pradeep Kumar Upmanyu -- 6601.

    Margin – 6239

    3) Greater Kailash –

    BJP – Shikha Roy – 49594

    AAP – Saurabh Bharadwaj – 46406

    Congress – Garvit Singhvi – 6711

    Margin –3188

    4) Jangpura –

    BJP – Tarvinder Marwah – 38859

    AAP – Manish Sisodia – 38184

    Congress – Farhad Suri – 7350

    Margin – 675

    5) Kasturba Nagar –

    BJP – Neeraj Basoya – 38067

    Congress – Abhishek Dutt -- 27019

    AAP – Ramesh Pehlwan – 18617

    Margin – 11048

    6) Madipur –

    BJP – Kailash Gangwal – 52019

    AAP – Rakhi Birla – 41120

    Congress – 17958

    Margin – 10899

    7) Mehrauli –

    BJP – Gajendra Singh Yadav – 48349

    AAP – Mahendra Chaudhary – 46567

    Independent – Balyogi Baba Balaknath – 9731

    Margin – 1782

    8) Nangloi Jat

    BJP – Manoj Kumar Shokeen – 75272

    AAP – Raghuvinder Shokeen – 49021

    Congress – Rohit Choudhary – 32028

    Margin – 26251

    9) New Delhi

    BJP – Parvesh Verma – 30088

    AAP – Arvind Kejriwal – 25999

    Congress – Sandeep Dikshit – 4568

    Margin – 4089

    10) Rajinder Nagar –

    BJP – Umang Bajaj – 46671

    AAP – Durgesh Pathak – 45440

    Congress – 4015

    Margin 1231

    11) Sangam Vihar –

    BJP -- Chandan Kumar Choudhary -- 54049

    AAP – Dinesh Mohaniya – 53705

    Congress – Harish Choudhary – 15863

    Margin – 344

    12) Malviya Nagar –

    BJP – Satish Upadhyay – 39564

    AAP – Somnath Bharti – 37433

    Congress – 6770

    Margin – 2131

    13) Mustafabad –

    BJP – Mohan Singh Bisht – 85215

    AAP – Adeel Ahmad Khan – 676 37

    AIMIM – Mohammed Tahir Hussain (Rebel AAP) – 33474

    Congress – Ali Mehdi – 11763

    Margin – 17578

    14) Timarpur –

    BJP – Surya Prakash Khatri – 55941

    AAP – Surinder Pal Singh 54773

    Congress – 8361

    Margin – 1168

    15) Trilokpuri –

    BJP – Ravi Kant – 58217

    AAP – Anjana Parcha – 57825

    Congress – 6147 – Amardeep

    Margin – 392

Next Updates Previous Updates
Delhi assembly electionsDelhi
Read More
Next Story

Top Stories

X
sidekick