The Daily Dazzling Dawn

India |

Modi's BJP Leads in Crucial Delhi Election

by DD Staff

February 08, 2025

Narendra Damodardas Modi

key takeaways

As ballots are tallied during a fiercely contested election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party appears poised to take power in the Indian capital, Delhi.

According to data from the Election Commission of India (EC), the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading in 22 seats in the 70-member legislative assembly, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 48 seats.

The government can be formed by a party that receives more than the halfway threshold of 35 seats.

Given Delhi's symbolic significance as the nation's capital, the election was a contest of prestige for both the BJP and the AAP.

The AAP has been in power since 2013 in the federally managed city, and voters have supported its strong welfarism record. However, the group and its leaders have recently been accused of corruption, which they have refuted.

For the BJP, securing Delhi represents more than just electoral success - it would mark a crucial foothold in the nation's capital after being out of power there since 1998.

The party, which has had recent election successes in other states, such as Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, has thrown resources at the Delhi campaign, with Modi as well as Home Minister Amit Shah attending events.

Congress, the main opposition party at the national level, is also in the race, but it is not leading in any seat.

The party governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013, but was ousted over allegations of corruption that saw voters turn to AAP instead. It has failed to make a mark since.

This time, more than 60 percent of eligible voters participated in the poll. Although such predictions have failed in the past, the majority of exit polls projected an outright majority for the BJP, giving them more than 35 seats.

Delhi's system of government is distinct. The lieutenant governor (LG), who is chosen by the federal government, makes important decisions pertaining to land, public order, and law enforcement. Public services, health, and education are among the issues that are handled by the state legislature.

When state legislatures and the federal government are controlled by opposing parties, this divergence has frequently led to conflict.

The power structure is also a reason why the election campaigning in Delhi is more focused on welfare than on political or identity issues, which play a larger role in elections elsewhere in the country.

The AAP and BJP campaigns both promised improvements to public schools and free healthcare services as well as cash handouts to women.

Meanwhile, the BJP also hoped for a boost from last week's federal budget, which slashed income tax for the salaried middle class, a key voting bloc in the capital.

A BJP victory in politically significant Delhi, according to experts, will boost Modi's standing with Indian voters following his party's loss of the majority in the general election last year.

The AAP, a considerably smaller party that was commended for concentrating on enhancing the city's healthcare and education systems during its early years in power, would also suffer greatly from a defeat. Although Punjab State is now in its control, keeping Delhi would have been a significant victory for the struggling party, which now faces an unclear future.

The AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, an anti-graft activist who was imprisoned in a corruption case involving a now-scrapped alcohol sales policy last year, was the focus of a large portion of the BJP campaign.

Kejriwal, who denies all allegations and was released on bail in September, has accused Modi's party of carrying out a "political vendetta" against him and the AAP, charges that the BJP denies.