Delhi Election Results 2025: Modi adds India's capital to a string of electoral victories

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally won control of the national capital for his party after more than two decades, a resounding victory that underlines a recovery in support since an unexpectedly poor showing in last year’s national elections.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party routed the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, whose leader, Arvind Kejriwal, lost his own seat. The promise of a wide range of freebies, together with allegations of corruption within the opposition party and the recent arrests of its leaders, helped the BJP to flip Delhi, which had overwhelmingly voted for Kejriwal in the past.

“It is our guarantee that we will leave no stone unturned in developing Delhi, improving the overall quality of life for the people,” Modi said in a post on X.

The victory in Delhi is the third major success for the BJP in four months after winning the states of Haryana and Maharashtra, a sign that Modi’s policies such as the record tax cuts doled out in last week’s budget have helped rebuild his party’s support. For Delhi, having the same political party at federal and city level could help smooth administrative tasks. 

“One would expect more coordination between the centre and the state,” said Rahul Verma, a political analyst and fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. Though the government in Delhi is drawn from an elected assembly, its powers are restricted and shared with the federal government.

The BJP won 48 seats in the 70-seat legislature, a meteoric rise from the eight it won in 2020. It campaigned aggressively on the alleged corruption scandals that have dogged Kejriwal and his party for years. The BJP also promised cash handouts to women, cheap cooking gas and an assurance that free electricity and water plans would continue. Days before the vote, Modi’s government announced the tax cuts for the middle class in the federal budget. 

The gamble paid off. “There is a big class polarization,” said Neelanjan Sircar, a professor at Ahmedabad University. “The middle and upper class in Delhi have largely deserted the AAP.”

Kejriwal’s personal electoral loss, along with that of a few senior party leaders, spells trouble for the party, which had been tied in an administrative and legal battle with federal authorities. 

In his concession statement posted on X, Kejriwal said his party would fulfill the role of a constructive opposition. “We hope that the BJP honors the expectations and wishes of the voters who have elected them.”

India’s main national opposition party, the Indian National Congress, failed to win a single seat in the capital, adding to a string of losses in which it has been unable to eke out a win without coalition partners. Delhi’s election solidifies BJP’s sweep in northern India, as it continues to edge out smaller political players using a strong organizational structure.

“Purely from a structural standpoint, the opposition are in a weaker place. They have to develop a type of politics which grabs the common people,” said Sircar. “They are dealing with a party that invests in mobilization and coordination.”