In a victory that has reshaped Delhi’s political panorama, the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) has swept again to energy within the nationwide capital after 27 years, securing 48 seats within the 70-member legislative meeting. The outcomes, declared on Saturday, February 8, 2025, noticed the incumbent Aam Aadmi Get together (AAP) decreased to 22 seats from its earlier tally of 62.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing occasion staff at BJP headquarters alongside Union Ministers Amit Shah and JP Nadda, started his victory speech with “Yamuna Maiya ki Jai.” (Victory to mom Yamuna – the river). Hours later, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena reportedly informed outgoing Chief Minister Atishi throughout her resignation formalities that her authorities’s defeat was on account of being “cursed by Yamuna Maiya,”.
The February 5 election delivered a number of important upsets, together with the defeat of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who misplaced his New Delhi constituency to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4,089 votes. Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia additionally suffered defeat in Jangpura by the hands of Tarvinder Singh Marwah. Nevertheless, incumbent Chief Minister Atishi managed to retain her Kalkaji seat, securing a slim victory over BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri.
The Congress occasion’s electoral woes within the capital continued because it did not safe a single seat for the third consecutive time, with most of its candidates shedding their deposits. Regardless of the BJP’s overwhelming seat share, there was merely a 2% distinction in vote share between the 2 main contenders.
Persevering with his tackle, Modi declared, “The folks of Delhi have thrown out AAP-da. Delhi is free from AAP-da of a decade. The mandate of Delhi is evident — growth, imaginative and prescient and belief have gained in Delhi immediately.”
Kejriwal, who had resigned as Chief Minister in September final yr after being launched from jail on bail, gracefully accepted the decision. “AAP’s political journey had by no means been about energy however about public service,” he stated in a video message on X (previously Twitter). “Now that the folks have given their verdict, we won’t solely play the position of a constructive Opposition but in addition proceed serving society.”
The BJP’s marketing campaign, which didn’t announce a chief ministerial candidate, centered on the promise of a ‘double engine’ authorities – the place the identical occasion guidelines at each state and federal ranges. The occasion pledged to proceed and improve present welfare schemes, together with free electrical energy and water provide.
The election marks a major shift in Delhi’s governance, which has been below AAP management since 2013. The capital’s distinctive administrative construction, the place key choices associated to public order, police, and land are managed by the federally-appointed Lieutenant Governor, has typically led to friction between state and central authorities.
The BJP’s victory in Delhi, coming after current wins in Haryana and Maharashtra, reinforces its political dominance regardless of setbacks in final yr’s common election. For the AAP, which nonetheless governs Punjab, the lack of its stronghold raises questions on its future trajectory, significantly given the current corruption allegations which have plagued its management.
The brand new authorities’s formation awaits the return of Prime Minister Modi from his US go to, anticipated round February 14 or 15, after which the oath-taking ceremony for the brand new MLAs will likely be scheduled.
