Delhi Election Results: BJP poised to regain power in capital after 3 decades, say early trends

Delhi Election Results: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be returning to power in Delhi after about three decades, initial trends of the counting of the Delhi Assembly Elections indicated on Saturday.

The saffron party is on course to defeat the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with leads on at least 50 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly. Delhi has 70 seats in the assembly, and a party or alliance needs at least 36 seats to form government in the national capital.

Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP won last two elections bagging 63 seats in 2020 and 67 seats in 2015 assembly polls. As the counting was underway on Saturday, AAP was ahead on just 19 seats.

Historic Win for BJP?

The last BJP chief minister in Delhi was late Sushma Swaraj, who held the top post for 52 days in 1998. Since then, the BJP has lost six consecutive assembly polls – 1998, 2003 and 2008 – to the Congress and 2013, 2015 and 2020 – to the AAP.

In the high-octane campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the run up to February 5 polls, the BJP made all-out attempts to come back to power, focusing on its slogan “parivartan” (change) and a targeted campaign against the AAP, and its leaders, over corruption allegations during its ten-year rule.

The BJP ran a sustained campaign to change public perception by highlighting corruption issues like “Sheesh Mahal”and the liquor scam while Arvind Kejriwal was chief minister. Kejriwal stepped down in September last year.

The party effectively raised civic issues like water scarcity, the supply of polluted water, air pollution, waterlogging during rains, damaged roads, and poor public bus transport.

The party also promised to continue AAP welfare schemes more transparently besides its own poll sops.