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From Jhuggis to Sheesh Mahal: How BJP won Delhi elections 2025

  • Khusboo Kumari
    • How BJP won Delhi assembly election 2025

    How BJP won Delhi assembly election 2025

    NEW DELHI: In a historic turn of events, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, clinching 48 seats with a clear majority. For a party that struggled to defeat the formidable Sheila Dikshit in 2013 and was trounced by Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2015 and 2020, this win marks a significant political shift. But what factors contributed to this unprecedented success?

     

     

    AAP’s Unfulfilled Promises and Punjab Fallout
    AAP’s governance model, which relied heavily on welfare schemes, began to show cracks—especially after its performance in Punjab. The failure to deliver on crucial promises led to protests by women from Punjab in Delhi, shaking the credibility of AAP’s flagship schemes. The much-touted promise of providing Rs. 2,100 to Delhi women was questioned when juxtaposed against BJP’s successful implementation of similar schemes like Ladli Behna Yojana in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
    The Limits of Freebies and BJP’s Alternative Appeal

    While AAP’s free bus rides, electricity, and water schemes had once won over voters, their appeal seemed to have stiffened. The electorate expected a broader vision beyond just subsidies. BJP’s promise to maintain existing welfare schemes while offering additional benefits—such as 2,500 direct transfers for women and pension hikes, one-time financial assistance of ₹21,000 to pregnant women—helped them win voter confidence.

     

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    Moreover, the middle class and upper middle class, largely unmoved by free electricity upto 200 units (which was insufficient for their needs), resonated more with BJP’s economic policies. The announcement of a tax exemption up to Rs. 12 lakh annual income in the Union Budget 2025 just days before the elections further cemented BJP’s appeal.
    The Sheesh Mahal Controversy: A Turning Point

    Kejriwal’s earlier stance of living modestly and refusing official security fell apart with revelations about the extravagant renovations of his residence, dubbed ‘Sheesh Mahal.’ This became a major campaign point for the BJP, effectively branding AAP as hypocritical and out of touch with its ‘common man’ image.

     

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    A key moment in the campaign was PM Modi’s rally, where he criticized AAP’s governance, referring to it as ‘Aap-da’ (disaster), and Delhi’s Yamuna pollution crisis. The issue of Yamuna’s contamination, often blamed on Haryana, failed to resonate with voters, who instead saw AAP’s inaction. This also helped BJP gain traction among Purvanchali voters, traditionally a strong AAP support base.

    Approximately 24% of Delhi’s population belongs to the Purvanchali community, accounting for over 4 million voters.
    In the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a strong foothold in Purvanchali-dominated constituencies, winning 11 out of 14 seats.
    BJP’s Strategic Outreach to Slums and the Poor
    BJP also countered narratives among Jhuggi dwellers and people from lower economies, who were the major vote bank of AAP. BJP highlighted infrastructural failures, such as poor road conditions and contaminated water supply. Modi’s symbolic gesture of handing over keys to newly built flats for jhuggi dwellers and promising further rehabilitation projects swayed a significant portion of AAP’s core voter base.

    Additionally, the liquor policy controversy became a flashpoint, especially among women in slum areas, who viewed it as exacerbating alcohol-related problems in their camps. The subsequent arrests of AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal, further dented AAP’s image as a party that once claimed to be an anti-corruption crusader.

     

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    Approximately 1.5 million residents from Delhi’s slums are registered voters, spread across 675 slums and over 1,700 jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) clusters in the city.
    In the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP secured victory in key constituencies with a high population of jhuggi dwellers, including Mangolpuri, Sangam Vihar, and Bawana.
    Administrative Setbacks and Governance Challenges
    AAP’s frequent clashes with the Lieutenant Governor and BJP’s allegations of mismanagement in bodies like the Delhi Jal Board and mohalla clinics further weakened their standing. BJP leveraged these governance failures by showcasing the Centre’s contributions to Delhi’s development—expanding the Metro network, constructing expressways, procuring new buses, and initiating various infrastructure projects.
    Internal Struggles and Candidate Selection Blunders
    At a time when AAP needed unity, it faced internal dissent. The decision to deny tickets to 14 sitting MLAs led to defections, with eight of them joining BJP. This internal discord further hurt AAP’s prospects, making them appear unstable and divided.
    The Congress Factor

    AAP’s decision to contest alone—without an alliance with the Congress—proved to be a strategic blunder. In at least 13 constituencies—including New Delhi, Jangpura, and Kalkaji—the votes garnered by Congress candidates exceeded the margin of BJP and AAP. This raises the question that had AAP and Congress contested jointly, the outcome might have been different?

    Modi Wave and Nationalistic Sentiments
    BJP’s strategy of contesting without declaring a chief ministerial candidate proved successful, as the party rode on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. The ideological weight of the Ram Mandir inauguration and the revocation of Article 370 extended beyond Uttar Pradesh and resonated in Delhi as well.
    Another key factor to consider is the declining voter turnout, which was slower this year compared to previous elections—67.12% in 2015, 62.55% in 2020, and 60.44% in 2025.
    However the ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option has seen a steady rise in votes over the years, reflecting growing voter dissatisfaction with available candidates. In 2015, around 35,000 voters opted for NOTA, which increased to 43,109 in 2020. The 2025 elections saw the highest NOTA count yet, with 53,738 votes cast, surpassing the vote share of some national parties.
    BJP’s triumph in Delhi was not the result of a single factor but a combination of strategic positioning, capitalizing on AAP’s governance shortcomings, and aligning their campaign with larger nationalistic sentiments. By promising continuity in welfare schemes while offering a broader vision for development, BJP successfully broadened its appeal across different voter demographics.
    Delhi’s political landscape has now changed dramatically. Whether AAP can recover from this setback or whether BJP will cement its governance in the capital for the long run remains to be seen.
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