Delhi election verdict: BJP's triumph, AAP's rout, Congress's decline
With the BJP poised to reclaim the power center of national politics, Delhi, ending Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party's unchallenged decade-long run, here is an analysis of what the capital's historic verdict means for major players in the field.
BJP and PM Narendra Modi
The decisive mandate in favour of the BJP, which has won the Delhi Assembly for the first time since 1998, further stamps the prominence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the saffron polity. This is the BJP's third straight major win after Haryana and Maharashtra. With the Delhi win, the BJP has further consolidated its position in North India. A comprehensive win across segments in the capital—community votes, women, first-time voters, villages, Dalit segments—means the BJP will continue to project itself as the party of people's preference. The fact that a faceless BJP won Delhi against AAP stalwart Arvind Kejriwal and decimated him in his own segment signals a massive surge for saffron sentiments in the capital and anti-incumbency against the AAP. The Delhi win will strengthen saffron prospects in the Bihar elections, with the party set to also focus on Punjab, the only other state where AAP rules. Further within the organisation, the win in Delhi is a clear endorsement of PM Modi and his lieutenant Amit Shah's policies and means they may no longer need to defer much to their parent RSS in matters of party policy, something they were required to do after failing to muster a majority on their own in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The first impact of the Delhi win will be on the BJP president's election expected in March, and Modi and Shah can now have a candidate of their choice, the RSS notwithstanding.
AAP
The embarrassing loss of the AAP and its chief Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi shows a fall for a party that rose meteorically in 2013. Established on November 26, 2012, the AAP under Kejriwal went on to become a national party in a record time of under a decade. Apart from the Congress, the AAP became the only party to rule in more than one state (Delhi and Punjab). Kejriwal became the face of alternative politics, and non-establishment AAP leaders signaled a kind of freshness Indian politics needed. But grave charges of corruption in the Delhi excise scam, lack of delivery on "kaam ki rajneeti," hubris as marked by an expensive revamp of ex-CM Kejriwal's official residence, and constant conflict with the LG and the Centre ultimately cost the AAP dearly today. The entire top brass of the AAP, led by Kejriwal, lost with the exception of CM Atishi and minister Gopal Rai. The AAP's loss not only puts a question mark on the party's existence in Delhi and elsewhere (leaders like Awadh Ojha are already saying they will quit the AAP), but it will also cast a shadow on the durability of the national-level anti-BJP INDIA bloc and the AAP's prospects in the 2027 Punjab elections. With Kejriwal defeated, it remains to be seen who will helm the AAP and who will inspire its cadres to stay united.
Congress
For the Congress, nothing really changes in Delhi except that the party has yet again set a record of three ducks consecutively. The Congress drew a blank, as it did in the past three polls in Delhi, marginally recovering 2.13 percent vote share at the expense of the AAP and to the advantage of the BJP. Its candidates again lost deposits in the majority of seats, with ex-CM Sheila Dikshit's son Sandeep finishing third in New Delhi; state unit chief Devender Yadav finishing third in Badli; Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba finishing third in Kalkaji; and ex-five-term MLA Haroon Yusuf finishing third in Ballimaran. Overall, the Congress did not gain anything for itself but spoiled the AAP's prospects in Delhi by garnering votes that would have otherwise gone to the AAP. Nationally, the Congress's posturing of going alone in Delhi means Rahul Gandhi could repeat the experiment in other states in a zeal to strengthen the party. A third straight loss in Delhi also puts further strain on Rahul Gandhi's leadership abilities, as the Congress posts a dismal show after finishing behind all parties in Maharashtra and previously losing Haryana despite the BJP's decade-long incumbency.
