Third consecutive 7-0 result for BJP in Delhi
BJP wins all 7 parliamentary seats in Delhi ahead of crucial assembly elections
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi, completing a hat-trick of clean sweeps in the national capital months ahead of the crucial assembly elections the state.
The party had repeated just one sitting MP, Manoj Tiwari in the North East constituency, in order to neutralise any potential anti-incumbency, and the gambit has paid handsome returns. The party ran a spirited campaign in Delhi with several chief ministers and top party leaders holding road shows across the Capital. Besides seeking a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party raised several infrastructure projects in the capital that were funded by the Centre to scotch the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) election run which was based on the its state government’s welfare schemes.
The BJP won was particularly impressive as it came despite an alliance by the AAP and the Congress.
It was for the first time that the BJP was in a direct contest with the AAP in four and the Congress in three seats — as opposed to the triangular contest it had faced since 2014.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva attributed his party’s success to the dedication of its workers and the “failure of the AAP government”.
“In the last 15 months, we ironed out differences among leaders and ensured every BJP worker is dedicated to working for the party. The excellent performance in Delhi is also a result of the continued attack on Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP over corruption. We exposed the failures of the AAP government... it is an outcome of our hard work and the work done by the Narendra Modi government,” said Sachdeva.
AAP, meanwhile, said the BJP won because it “misused federal agencies against the Opposition parties”, adding that the party is hopeful because of the BJP’s poor performance in the other states.
“The results have disappointed many AAP leaders. We saw Arvind Kejriwal campaigning so hard in scorching heat against the misuse of the central agencies in hounding the AAP and the arrest of party leaders. The poor performance of the BJP [in other states] is a silver lining,” said an AAP leader who asked not to be named.
“It has momentarily left us disappointed but even those who preferred the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections said they will be voting for the AAP in the assembly election. The poor performance of the BJP [in other states] is a silver lining,” said an AAP leader, asking not to be named.
Cong rebellion a factor
In the run-up to the polls, infighting and rebellion rocked the Congress dealing a blow to the party organisation and its preparations as Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, and others opposed the fielding of Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi and Udit Raj from North West Delhi. It prompted them to resign and switch to the BJP — a move that considerably affected campaigning and ground-level preparations of the party. The party appointed Punjab Congress in-charge Devender Yadav as the president of Delhi Congress.
“The rebellion hit our preparations. There were coordination issues with the AAP, which were sorted out later, but that also stopped the alliance from utilising its full potential. In some areas the support of the local Congress leaders was not forthcoming,” said a Congress leader, requesting anonymity.
In the 2024 elections, the contest was bipolar for the first time in 15 years in Delhi — in 2014 and 2019, the Capital witnessed a triangular contest among the BJP, AAP and Congress.
AAP faced an uphill battle against the BJP, which won 57% of the vote share in 2019 and held a 16% point advantage over the combined vote shares of AAP and Congress.
