In a decisive victory, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 48 out of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) managed to secure only 22 seats. The Congress Party faced its worst-ever performance, failing to win a single seat. Additionally, deposits of 67 Congress candidates were forfeited due to their poor vote count. Despite this, Congress played a significant role in disrupting AAP’s chances in several constituencies.
Leaders of the INDIA alliance believe that the failure of Congress and AAP to join hands led to their disappointing performance. Jammu and Kashmir’s former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also hinted at this in a social media post after early vote trends emerged. He referenced the Mahabharata in a meme and sarcastically wrote, “And keep fighting amongst yourselves.”
Congress Split Votes, AAP’s Key Leaders Suffer Defeats
Several senior AAP leaders, including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, faced unexpected defeats. Political analysts suggest that Congress candidates played a crucial role in splitting opposition votes. If AAP and Congress had contested the elections together, the results might have been different for both parties.
In the high-profile New Delhi constituency, BJP’s Parvesh Verma defeated Arvind Kejriwal by 4,089 votes, while Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit secured 4,568 votes. Similarly, in Jangpura, BJP’s candidate, Tarvinder Singh Marwah, defeated Manish Sisodia by 675 votes, while Congress candidate Farhad Suri secured 7,350 votes. These figures indicate that a united AAP-Congress front could have significantly altered the election outcome.
Vote Shift: AAP Loses, BJP and Congress Gain
The elections witnessed a remarkable increase in BJP’s vote share, while AAP suffered a significant decline. Congress, despite its poor seat tally, managed to improve its overall vote percentage. BJP secured 47.3% of the total votes, while AAP received 43.9% and Congress gained 6.4%.
A key takeaway from the results is that AAP’s vote share dropped by 9.72%, whereas BJP’s surged by 7.92%. Congress also saw a 2.18% increase in its vote share. Compared to the 2020 elections, the political landscape of Delhi in 2025 has undergone a dramatic transformation.
