The BJP staged a thumping comeback in the Delhi Assembly election after more than 26 years, ousting the Aam Aadmi Party government ruling the state since 2013.
In the keenly contested Delhi election, which went to polls on February 5, after the counting of votes on Saturday, BJP won 48 Assembly seats out of a total of 70 seats. AAP, which had won 62 seats in the last election, won 22 seats.
The Congress, which ruled the state for 15 years, was once again decimated in the election, and all its candidates lost in the election.
While important BJP leaders have won the election, in a major upset for the APP, its national convener and former CM Arvind Kejriwal lost to BJP’s Parvesh Verma, and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Suarbh Bhardwaj have also lost the election.
However, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi has won from the Kalkaji Assembly constituency by defeating Ramesh Bidhuri of the BJP. AAP leader Gopal Rai also won the Babarpur seat.
The counting for all Assembly seats began at 8 am on Saturday, and BJP candidates had taken an early lead in the majority of seats.
The incumbent AAP, BJP, and Congress were the main contenders of the Delhi poll 2025. AAP was eyeing a third straight full term in Delhi. AAP had dominated the last two assembly polls in Delhi and had won 62 out of 70 seats in the 2020 election.
BJP’s Parvesh Verma emerged as a giant-slayer with his victory against AAP supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a fierce contest from the New Delhi seat by a margin of 4,089 votes.
Chief Minister Atishi has won from the Kalkaji seat, defeating BJP rival Ramesh Bidhuri by 3,521 votes at the end of the twelfth round of counting for the Delhi Assembly polls.
Addressing the jubilant BJP workers at the party headquarters in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Delhi is like mini-India with people from all states residing here, and all of them have voted for BJP. Delhi has chosen the politics of fulfillment over that of appeasement.”
PM Modi said, “NDA governments have ensured the development of all states they rule, resulting in those governments returning to power. For the first time since Independence, BJP will now have governments in Delhi and all adjoining states.”
( With inputs from PTI)
