AAP’s future in question as key leaders lose

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced a significant setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, with its top leadership, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, losing their seats to BJP candidates.

Team Kejriwal had presented its top nine leaders as the party’s face in the elections — Kejriwal, Sisodia, Jain, Atishi, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chaddha, Sandeep Pathak, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Avadh Ojha. While Sanjay Singh, Chaddha and Pathak are parliamentarians, the remaining six contested the high-stakes Assembly elections. However, barring Atishi, who secured a hard-fought victory against BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri in the Kalkaji constituency, the others faced a crushing defeat.

Alongside Atishi, 21 other AAP candidates managed to overcome the strong anti-incumbency wave and emerged victorious from their respective constituencies. Among them were AAP ministers Imran Hussain and Gopal Rai, who retained their seats.

The election results served as a wake-up call for AAP, which has been in power in Delhi for over a decade and had expanded its influence to Punjab.

The party’s top leadership suffered significant losses. Party convener Arvind Kejriwal lost to BJP’s Parvesh Verma in the New Delhi constituency. Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was defeated by BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah.

Former minister Satyendra Jain lost to BJP’s Karnail Singh in Shakur Basti. Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj was defeated by BJP’s Shikha Roy. Avadh Ojha, a newly inducted AAP leader and educationist-turned-politician, lost to BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi in Patparganj. The electoral drubbing extended to other prominent AAP leaders as well. Durgesh Pathak, a member of AAP’s political affairs committee and national executive, lost to BJP’s Umang Bajaj in Rajinder Nagar. Somnath Bharti faced a heavy defeat at the hands of BJP’s Satish Upadhyay in Malviya Nagar. Rakhi Birla, who once served as the youngest minister in the Delhi Government and was the Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, lost to BJP’s Kailash Gangwal by a margin of over 10,000 votes.

AAP’s decisive defeat in the elections raises a critical question: Can the party recover? Its expansion beyond Delhi and Punjab has been slow, and without control of the capital, its influence risks further decline. The party’s survival hinges on its ability to reclaim lost credibility or risk fading into political obscurity as yet another movement-turned-mainstream party that lost its way.

In recent years, AAP has faced numerous challenges, including the arrest of its top leaders in the excise policy case, the loss of the Chief Minister’s chair in Delhi, and internal struggles. Despite these setbacks, the party has shown resilience, with new leaders emerging to energise what it calls the “most developed political start-up” in the country.

A closer look at the election results reveals that AAP lost around 10 seats by narrow margins of less than 5,000 votes. Additionally, the party’s vote share remains competitive with the BJP, indicating that it still enjoys significant public support. This foundation could help AAP prevent further erosion of its political ground.

With 22 MLAs in the Delhi Assembly, AAP is poised to play a crucial role as a strong opposition party. Its presence will be vital in maintaining the democratic character of the system and holding the BJP government accountable.

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Fight for Delhi’s progress on

We humbly accept the mandate. Thanks to all Congress workers for their dedication. The fight for the progress of Delhi and the rights of Delhiites will continue. — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader

PM Modi resides in heart of Delhi

It’s a historic moment. The BJP's victory in the Delhi polls after the Lok Sabha elections is a clear message that Prime Minister Modi resides in the heart of Delhi. — JP Nadda, BJP president

Rahul incapable of defeating BJP

Congrats to Rahul Gandhi for winning the election for BJP, yet again! Well done. The Delhi elections have proved that Rahul is incapable of defeating the BJP. — KT Rama Rao, BRS Working President

Poll nuggets

BJP’s Karnail richest winner, Bajaj youngest

The Delhi results saw BJP’s Karnail Singh emerge as the richest winner with assets worth Rs 259 crore, Umang Bajaj at 31 as the youngest winner, Tilak Ram Gupta as the oldest contestant at 73, and AAP’s Amanatullah Khan the candidate with the highest, 19, criminal cases. Karnail Singh, who won from Shakur Basti, was followed by Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden with Rs 248 crore and Parvesh Sahib Singh from New Delhi with Rs 115 crore. Among the 699 candidates who contested, the youngest winner was 31-year-old Umang Bajaj of the BJP, who secured victory from the Rajinder Nagar constituency.

BJP allies JD(U), LJP(RV) fail to make the mark

BJP’s alliance partners — Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) — failed to make a mark, losing both seats they contested. The BJP contested 68 out of 70 seats, leaving Burari for JD(U)’s Shailendra Kumar and Deoli for LJP(RV)’s Deepak Tanwar. Both candidates lost to AAP rivals. Kumar was defeated by Sanjeev Jha by a margin of 20,601 votes. Tanwar lost to Prem Chauhan by a margin of 36,680.

Why destroying anti-BJP forces: TMC to Congress

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday wondered if the Congress really wanted the BJP to be defeated or it was more interested in destroying anti-BJP forces in various states. “In Delhi, the BJP got 45.8 per cent of the votes, AAP got 43.5 per cent. The difference is only 2.3 per cent. On the other hand, the Congress got 6.36 per cent of the votes. If Congress had given up its ego and given unconditional support to AAP, the anti-BJP vote would have been 50 per cent, which would have been enough to keep BJP out of power. In this way, Congress is giving BJP an advantage by cutting anti-BJP votes in various states.

Atishi among five women emerge victorious

Five women candidates, including outgoing CM Atishi won in the Delhi Assembly polls this time, down from eight in the 2020 elections. Atishi is the only woman candidate of AAP who won this time. The BJP's four women candidates -- Rekha Gupta (Shalimar Bagh), Poonam Sharma (Wazirpur), Neelam Pahelwan (Najafgarh), and Shikha Roy (Greater Kailash) -- have emerged victorious. Of the total 699 candidates in the fray this time, 96 were women.