NEW DELHI: Riding on the wave of recent successes in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections just a few months ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a big win in the Delhi assembly elections. Arvind Kejriwal‘s Aam Aadmi Party suffered an embarrassing loss as most of its heavyweights lost the contest.
Here’s a look at top 10 winners and losers of Delhi assembly elections
DELHI ELECTION RESULTS: WINNERS
1. PM Modi and BJP
The BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept the Delhi assembly elections with a comfortable majority.
Delhi Election Results 2025
This victory marks the third major electoral success for the BJP in the last four months after winning the states of Haryana and Maharashtra. With this, the 27 years exile of the BJP in Delhi also comes to an end. This major win also indicates approval by the middle class to Modi government’s big tax relief in the Union budget 2025 last week have got the approval of middle-class consumers.
With this, PM Modi yet again proves to be the star campaigner for the BJP.
2. Parvesh Verma
In a high-stakes battle for New Delhi assembly seat, BJP leader Parvesh Verma emerged as a giant slayer by defeating former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by 4,089 seats.
Son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma, Parvesh was was entrusted to take on Kejriwal who has held in to the seat last three times. In 2013, Kejriwal had emerged as giant slayer by defeating then CM and Congress veteran Sheila Dixit.
After dethroning the three-time CM, Verma is also in now a strong contender for the top post.
3. Tarvinder Singh Marwah
BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah emerged as another giant slayer as he defeated former deputy CM and AAP senior leader Manish Sisodia. Marwah defeated three-time MLA Sisodia to win Jangpura seat by 675 votes. Sisodia had switched seats from Patparganj to Jangpura this time hoping for a comfortable win.
Marwah, who was in Congress for a long time and elected three-time MLA from Jangpura, had switched to BJP in 2022 after complaining of not getting time with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for a meeting.
4. Atishi
As the heavyweights of Aam Aadmi Party fell one by one, Atishi stood tall and won the Kalkaji assembly seat. In a high-stakes contest, Atishi won by 3,521 votes defeating BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress’s Alka Lamba.
“I thank the people of Kalkaji for showing trust in me. I congratulate my team who worked against ‘baahubal’,” Atishi said.
“We accept the people’s mandate. I have won but it’s not a time to celebrate but continue the ‘war’ against the BJP,” the 43-year-old said.
Her victory is a standout for the AAP as its top leaders Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia lost their constituencies.
With the defeat served to Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, Atishi may now also take charge as the leader of opposition in Delhi assembly.
5. Sandeep Dikshit
The Congress leader may have lost the contest today but he surely has emerged as the ‘Baazigar’ of this poll season. Son of veteran Congress leader and three-time CM Sheila Dikshit, Sandeep got his ultimate revenge against Arvind Kejriwal today.
Though he did not win the New Delhi seat, he managed to eat in to Kejriwal’s votes that eventually led to the AAP chief’s defeat.
It was a matter of prestige for Sandeep, who was finally given a ticket from New Delhi, her mother’s bastion, which had been the stronghold of Kejriwal since 2013.
DELHI ELECTION RESULTS: LOSERS
6. Kejriwal
It’s no surprise there. The one at the top of this list is AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. The politician, who rose to power as a anti-graft crusader found himself embroiled in corruption cases.
After walking out of jail on bail, Kejriwal resigned from the top post seeking validation from the public of Delhi. The union territory, however, refused to give the stamp of ‘Mr Clean’ to Kejriwal.
The AAP suffered a major blow this election and now will have to look at ways to reinvent itself.
7. Manish Sisodia
The former deputy chief minister of Delhi and second-in-command of AAP, Sisodia, also faced defeat against BJP candidate Tarvinder Singh Marwah in the Jangpura constituency.
Having previously served as a three-term MLA from Patparganj in east Delhi, he chose to contest from Jangpura in this election.
Following his arrest in 2023 over alleged corruption in the liquor policy case, Sisodia was imprisoned for approximately 18 months until he secured bail. Similar to Kejriwal’s stance, he declined to accept a governmental position prior to receiving the “people’s verdict”.
Delhi, however, decided to give him another chance this time.
8. Aam Aadmi Party
After governing Delhi for a decade, AAP faced significant anti-incumbency and lost the election to BJP. This is the first time since its inception that AAP will not hold power in Delhi.
With the Delhi loss, AAP is now in power only in Punjab. With this, the national expansion plan of the party has hit a roadblock.
The party will now have to regroup and reorganise itself as it now sits in opposition in Delhi.
9. Congress
The Congress party has recorded its third consecutive blank in the Delhi assembly elections, marking a stark contrast to its earlier dominance when it governed the capital for 15 consecutive years from 1998 to 2013.
Delhi’s electorate has consistently rejected the party in three successive assembly elections.
After snapping alliance with AAP for Delhi elections, Congress mounted an assertive campaign with former party president Rahul Gandhi spearheading the criticism against Arvind Kejriwal.
Despite these efforts, the party failed to secure any constituencies in Delhi. Their sole minor comfort lies in achieving a modest improvement in vote share, rising by approximately 2% from its previous figure of less than 5% in the 2020 assembly elections.
10. INDIA bloc
Omar Abdullah’s X post captured the mood of INDIA bloc today — ‘Aur lado aapas mein’. The jibe came as AAP and Congress fought against each other which eventually benefitted BJP.
With the bitter and ugly fight and AAP’s eventual loss in Delhi, the focus now turns to if it’s an end to INDIA bloc.
The AAP defeat also comes as an embarassment to Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party who actively campaigned for AAP in Delhi.
Notable mention: Rahul Gandhi
While Congress may have not been able to open its account in Delhi once again, Rahul Gandhi cannot be put in the list of losers. Rahul, who personally took charge to dent Kejriwal’s image during the election campaign, was successful in his mission.
The defeat also limits AAP within the INDIA bloc who had the capability to challenge Congress’ position as a national party. The Delhi blow also gives Congress a little immunity within the bloc where allies SP, TMC, Sena (UBT) chose Kejriwal’s party over Congress.