GUWAHATI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, February 8, secured 47 of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi, marking the party’s return to power in the national capital after 27 years. This development has followed the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) decade-long rule, as Arvind Kejriwal’s party managed to secure only 23 seats.
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A party needs to cross the halfway mark of 35 seats to form the government, a feat the BJP achieved. “Development wins, good governance triumphs,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He further assured that his party would leave “no stone unturned” in developing Delhi.
The elections were a battle of prestige for both the BJP and AAP, given Delhi’s symbolic and political significance. The city, a federally administered union territory, had seen strong voter support for AAP’s welfare policies in the past. However, the party’s leadership was embroiled in multiple corruption allegations, leading to a decline in its popularity. AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, have denied the accusations, calling them politically motivated.
For the BJP, winning Delhi represents more than just an electoral success; it establishes a long-sought political foothold in the nation’s capital after being out of power since 1998. The party, which has enjoyed recent victories in states like Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, poured massive resources into the Delhi campaign. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah actively participated in rallies and events, reinforcing the party’s push for governance change in the city.
The Congress, once a dominant force in Delhi politics, continued with its steady decline, as it failed to win a single seat in this election.
The biggest upsets for AAP came with the defeats of two of its most prominent leaders. Arvind Kejriwal lost his New Delhi constituency to BJP’s Parvesh Verma, while former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was defeated in Jangpura by BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah. Chief Minister Atishi narrowly secured victory in Kalkaji, but the party’s overall losses have severely weakened its position in Delhi politics.
Following the results, Kejriwal released a video message on X, saying that AAP "humbly accepted" the people's verdict and congratulated the BJP on its victory. “I hope they live up to the expectations of the people who voted for them,” he stated.
