End of Kejri'kal' in Delhi, BJP gets two-third majority, to form government after 27 years

In the Delhi Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory in 48 seats, achieving a two-thirds majority. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party managed to win only 22 seats. The state has a total of 70 assembly seats. The third major party, Congress, once again failed to open its account. After nearly 27 years, the BJP will form the government in the state.

Biggest Upset: Kejriwal Loses New Delhi Seat
One of the biggest political upsets came from the New Delhi constituency, where AAP supremo and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of BJP’s Parvesh Verma by nearly 4,000 votes. However, AAP leader and Chief Minister Atishi managed to retain her Kalkaji seat, defeating BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri.

According to the Election Commission's final tally, Parvesh Verma secured 30,088 votes, while Kejriwal managed 25,999 votes. Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit garnered just 4,568 votes. Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, is a seasoned politician who previously served as a two-time MP from West Delhi.

AAP's Key Leaders Face Defeat
The election results proved disastrous for several senior AAP leaders. Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia lost by a narrow margin of 675 votes in Jangpura. Heavyweights like Somnath Bharti, Satyendar Jain, and Saurabh Bharadwaj also faced defeat. Meanwhile, AAP’s Awadh Ojha lost in Patparganj. Accepting his loss, he admitted, "This is my personal failure. I couldn't connect with the people. I will work harder and contest again next time."

Vote Share: A Close Contest Despite BJP's Victory
While BJP secured a clear majority in terms of seats, the vote share difference between BJP and AAP remained narrow. As per the latest Election Commission data, BJP received 45.89% of the total votes, while AAP was close behind with 43.55%. Congress, which failed to win any seats, secured just 6.35% of the votes.

Key Factors Behind BJP’s Win
Despite its traditional stance against freebies, BJP assured voters that it would not discontinue key welfare schemes, such as free bus services. The party focused its campaign on middle-class concerns, including governance and pollution. Meanwhile, AAP’s campaign suffered a major blow after Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in April 2024. BJP capitalized on this setback and aggressively highlighted issues like the expensive renovation of Kejriwal’s residence, water supply problems, and stalled infrastructure projects.

AAP, which once dominated Delhi politics, had won a staggering 67 out of 70 seats in 2015 and retained 62 in 2020. However, this time, even crossing 25 seats seemed out of reach. With this election, BJP marks its return to power in the national capital after nearly three decades.