- Saturday, February 08, 2025
The results mark a significant shift in the capital’s political landscape, signalling the end of AAP’s 12-year dominance in Delhi
By: India Weekly
THE BJP is poised for a landslide victory in Delhi, leading in 48 of the 70 assembly seats, while AAP is trailing with just 22.
The results mark a significant shift in the capital’s political landscape, signalling the end of AAP’s 12-year dominance and the resurgence of the BJP in Delhi after more than 26 years.
Here are some of the prominent losers of Aam Aadmi Party.
Arvind Kejriwal
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal lost his New Delhi seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma in a fierce triangular contest. Verma secured 30,088 votes, while Kejriwal trailed behind with 25,999 votes. Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit finished third with 4,568 votes.
Verma, a two-time MP from West Delhi, had launched his campaign against Kejriwal even before BJP officially declared his candidature, positioning himself as the chief challenger to the former three-time Delhi chief minister.
His victory over Kejriwal not only boosts his stature as one of the BJP’s most prominent Jat leaders in the capital but also strengthens his position as a potential contender for the chief minister’s post.
Verma, a management graduate, has been active in politics since his youth, beginning with the RSS before rising through the BJP’s ranks.
He first became an MLA from Mehrauli in 2013 before securing consecutive Lok Sabha victories from West Delhi in 2014 and 2019.
Manish Sisodia
A key AAP strategist and the face of the party’s education reforms, Manish Sisodia had returned to electoral politics after spending 17 months in jail following his arrest in 2023 in the Delhi excise policy case.
Released on bail in August 2024, he led a spirited campaign centred around education and governance.
However, Sisodia’s move from Patparganj to Jangpura raised speculations, with opponents accusing him of seeking a safer seat.
He won the 2020 election from Patparganj with a narrow margin of 3,207 votes.
In Jangpura, he narrowly lost to Tarvinder Singh Marwah by 600 votes.
Marwah was a three-time Congress MLA from Jangpura (1998–2013) before switching to the BJP in 2022.
A known Sikh leader, he heads the BJP’s Delhi Sikh Cell. His political career has been marked by controversies, including claims that the Congress sidelined him before his defection.
Saurabh Bhardwaj
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, who was the party’s go-to person after prominent leaders of his party were jailed, lost his seat.
Bharadwaj lost to BJP’s Shikha Roy by a margin of 3,188 votes in Greater Kailash. Congress candidate, Garvit Singhvi, got 6,711 votes.
Bharadwaj, a three-time MLA, was also a Cabinet minister under Kejriwal with the portfolios of home, health, power and urban development.
Somnath Bharti
Somanath Bharti lost to BJP’s Satish Upadhyay in Malviya Nagar by over 2,000 votes.
Malviya Nagar has been an AAP stronghold, with Bharti winning the last three elections.
This election he was pitted against BJP’s Satish Upadhyay and Congress’ Jitendra Kumar Kochar, who secured 6,502 votes.
Rakhi Birla
Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla was fielded from SC-reserved Madipur this time. She lost to the BJP’s Kailash Gangwal by 11,010 votes.
Interestingly, the Congress candidate Hanuman Sahay got 17,958 votes.
Birla was a three-time MLA from Mangol Puri.
However, Delhi chief minister and AAP candidate Atishi managed to win the Kalkaji constituency against BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri by over 3,500 votes.
The Kalkaji Assembly constituency was one of the most fiercely contested seats in the 2025 Delhi elections, with chief minister Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) facing a tough fight against BJP’s Bidhuri and Congress’ Alka Lamba.
