Modi Powers BJP to Historic Delhi Win

After a long wait of close to three decades during which it was first denied office in Delhi by Congress led by Shiela Dikshit and then by political start up Aam Admi Party helmed by Arvind Kejriwal, the Bharatiya Janata Party broke the jinx and is set to form the next government in the Capital.

Powered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign promising change and asking voters to allow him to serve the Capital as he has served the nation, BJP ended Kejriwal’s defiance. At the end of a bitter and fiercely contested election, BJP turned the tables on AAP by weaning away key constituencies like women, residents of unauthorised colonies and the middle class that had supported Kejriwal.

The trending results at 1.15pm pm on Saturday show BJP leading on 48 seats to AAP’s 22 in an election that was overwhelmingly bi-polar, making BJP’s success more remarkable. A straight fight between BJP and AAP was, as went conventional thinking, expected to favour the incumbent. But the notion that “Dilli mein Kejriwal, Centre mein Modi (Kejriwal in Delhi, Modi at the Centre)” had lost its charm.

A hard-hitting BJP campaign over Kejriwal’s luxurious former official residence labelled “sheeshmahal” and a series of scams that saw ministers including the former CM being jailed eroded AAP’s image. On Saturday afternoon, Kejriwal was trailing BJP’s Parvesh Singh by close to 3,800 votes, on the verge of plummeting to a humiliating defeat.

The verdict not only reflects the appeal of a “double engine” sarkar in Delhi which previously chose the local alternative, but the win for BJP reflects a larger validation of the party’s governance model. Though an assembly with just 70 seats, Delhi’s elections have a national echo and the message is that voters believe BJP is the better choice for both Centre and the Capital. Voters seem to have concluded that another term for Kejriwal would be more of the same – unending political bickering and legal fights with the Centre.

After BJP wins in Haryana, Maharashtra and now Delhi, the Modi government can look to press on with its legislative agenda such as one nation, one election and the Wakf amendment bill and also find the mind space to accelerate economic and governance reforms and address calls for faster de-regulation. The next test in Bihar is due only in November, and in the meanwhile BJP has gained the upper hand over the INDIA alliance after a sub-par performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha .

Over the past elections, BJP had lost its foothold in constituencies like Rajinder Nagar, Rajouri Garden and Jangpura, where its support went back to the Jana Sangh days. The party looks to return in these areas where an alienation of Sikh votes has hurt it in recent years. The resurgence provides BJP to rectify the big gap in its armoury that has seen it sweep Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections and fail in the assembly polls.

Congress failed to put up a significant challenge in any seat other than Kasturba Nagar where its candidate was in second spot. In the Kalkaji constituency, one of Congress’s better-known faces Alka Lamba, had barely secured 2,000 voted by mid-day. The presence of other parties like AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeem) could not make a mark. AIMIM’s Shifa ur Rehman Khan was second in Okhla, but behind by more than 10,000 votes in the sixth round of counting. Tahir Hussain, an accused in the 2020 anti-CAA riots, pulled in votes in Mustafabad essentially on account of his personal base.

The trending results make it evident that barring Muslim votes and a section of the beneficiaries of AAP’s “free” schemes the election has seen a decisive voter shift towards BJP. The lack of consolidation even among recipients of AAP schemes like free bus rides, free electricity and water and mohalla clinics is evident as BJP succeeded in breaking the vote barrier that confined it to 38.5% votes in the 2020 while AAP secured 53.5%. The climb from 38.5% to 47% was a big ask for BJP, one that many felt would be too tall a mountain to scale.

Kejriwal, who been AAP’s talisman and supreme leader who took all major decisions, has suffered the biggest blow. AAP’s cohesiveness will be under the scanner as it is no longer an ideologically driven party. On Saturday afternoon, Kejriwal was struggling to eke out a win in New Delhi constituency. Kejriwal’s main pitch against BJP was that the party will stop welfare schemes if it wins and that Delhi’s governance was halted by the Centre “conspiring” to send him to jail. It is clear that Kejriwal’s decision not to appoint a replacement cost AAP as it subjected citizens, particularly those in slums and unauthorised colonies, to severe shortages of civic amenities like water supplies through the record heat wave of the summer of 2024.

AAPArvind KejriwalBJPDelhi Assembly Election 2025Delhi liquor scamNarendra ModiSheesh MahalWeb Exclusive