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Delhi Elections: The first major electoral battle of 2025 will see a triangular contest among the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Congress
The term of the Delhi assembly is due to end on February 23. (AP)
The stage is all set for the Delhi Dangal. The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the dates for the high-stakes assembly election to the Capital where voting will take place on February 5 and the results will be announced on February 8.
The first major electoral battle of 2025 will see a triangular contest among the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Congress. The term of the Delhi assembly is due to end on February 23.
For the AAP, which has battled corruption charges and seen its top brass cool their heels in prison, the elections are a litmus test to prove that the party — which was birthed from an anti-corruption movement — still rules over the hearts of Delhiites. Arvind Kejriwal’s party, which has ruled Delhi with a full majority since 2015, is hoping that its schemes such as free electricity, water, and free bus rides for women, apart from a monthly stipend of Rs 2,100, free healthcare for the elderly, and a waiver of inflated water bills will help it retain power in the Capital.
Meanwhile, the BJP, which has been out of power in Delhi for over 26 years, is keen to claw back power from Kejriwal and AAP. In a scathing attack on AAP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while kicking off BJP’s poll campaign, equated its rule in Delhi to “AAPda (disaster)”. The saffron party has upped the ante against the ruling AAP by targeting Kejriwal’s extravagant expenditure on the CM’s bungalow when he held the top post.
For the Congress, the 2025 contest is a do-or-die battle. The Grand Old Party has been unable to open its account in the Capital — which it ruled for 15 years — in the previous two elections. Snubbed by the AAP, with whom it is fighting on the national level as part of the INDIA bloc, the Congress has been trying to revive its fortunes. It has promised Rs 2,500 monthly to women under the ‘Pyaari Didi Yojana’ if voted back to power.
As the political temperatures rise, let’s take a look at key issues that have dominated and will continue to drive the Delhi discourse:
CORRUPTION
In an ironic turn of events, the AAP, which came to power on the anti-corruption plank, was embroiled in a liquor scam, faced cases of money laundering, and even faced barbs over the expensive renovation at the chief minister’s residence. The party’s top brass was forced to spend time in jail, ranging from six months to two years. However, now out on bail, the AAP has hit the electoral track running and accused the BJP of trying to implicate its leaders to intimidate them into jumping ship. The BJP, meanwhile, has accused Kejriwal of being the master puppeteer who knows all about the scams right under his nose. The party, while sharpening its attack on the former CM’s ‘Sheesh Mahal’, accused the AAP convener of diverting people’s money to fund his extravagant project. Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that over Rs 6 crore was spent on designer marbles, Rs 6 crore on motorised curtains, Rs 70 lakh on automatic doors, Rs 50 lakh on carpets and Rs 64 lakh on smart TVs at the chief minister’s residence when Kejriwal occupied it. The voter sentiment on the corruption issue seems divided. While many believe the AAP is a victim of vendetta politics, others feel the party has lost its sheen and joined the bandwagon of tainted outfits.
CIVIC ISSUES
Mounds of garbage, overflowing drains, water shortage or supply of dirty water and damaged roads have become major issues for voters in the Capital. While the BJP blames AAP for the urban apathy, the latter claims the saffron party has only tried to defame it and stall the work of the MCD. Delhi’s dwindling air quality, which returns to haunt the Capital in winters every year, has also become a bone of contention between the two parties. Unfortunately, the ultimate losers in the tug-of-war are Delhiites who are forced to deal with unaddressed civic issues.
ROW OVER VOTER ROLLS
The controversy over the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls in the Capital escalated after Delhi Chief Minister Atishi wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner, seeking another round of verification of the voter deletions in the New Delhi assembly constituency. The revised voter list on Monday triggered the AAP, which accused the EC of indulging in “large-scale voter deletion fraud” even as the BJP claimed AAP failed to “register fake voters, especially Rohingya and Bangladeshi individuals” this time.
