New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a significant victory in Delhi on Saturday (February 8), defeating the ruling Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) in the Delhi assembly elections. The BJP is all set to form the government in Delhi after 27 years, having won 48 assembly seats, while AAP had to settle for 22 seats.
Many prominent AAP leaders faced defeat in this election. Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal lost the New Delhi assembly constituency. Also, senior party leader and former deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, had to accept defeat in the Jangpura constituency. AAP minister Saurabh Bhardwaj too lost from the Greater Kailash constituency.
Out of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly, 12 seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). The BJP won four out of the 12 reserved SC constituencies, while the AAP retained the remaining eight.
BJP makes inroads in reserved constituencies
The BJP won in Bawana, Trilokpuri, Mangolpuri, and Madipur, while the AAP secured victory in Ambedkar Nagar, Karol Bagh, Deoli, Kondli, Gokalpur, Patel Nagar, Seemapuri, and Sultanpur Majra.
In the last two assembly elections held in 2015 and 2020, the AAP had dominated these reserved constituencies. During those elections, the AAP won all 12 seats, securing strong support from the Dalit community.
However, in the 2025 election, the equation changed, and the AAP lost four out of the 12 seats. The Congress failed to win a single seat among these 12 reserved constituencies.
Dalit voters form a significant portion of the Delhi Assembly electorate, and their influence extends beyond the reserved constituencies to other seats. Since the formation of the AAP, Dalit voters have largely supported the party.
But this time, some Dalit voters had shifted towards the BJP. Before the elections, The Wire spoke to Dalit voters in some reserved constituencies, including Madipur, where the Valmiki community was unhappy with the AAP’s performance.
In Madipur, BJP’s Kailash Gangwal defeated AAP’s Rakhi Birla. Gangwal got 52,019 votes, while Birla secured 41,120 votes. Congress candidate Jaiprakash Panwar is in third place with 17,958 votes.
In Madipur, local Dalit voters were displeased with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for changing its candidate. In the 2015 and 2020 elections, Girish Soni had won after contesting on an AAP ticket but this time the party had fielded Rakhi Birla instead of Girish Soni in Madipur.
Kejriwal government’s welfare schemes had earlier helped it to secure Dalit votes
On the other hand, in constituencies such as Karol Bagh, AAP’s Vishesh Ravi secured a comfortable win. Dalit voters in Karol Bagh firmly stood behind Ravi and the AAP.
The work done by Ravi played a significant role in securing the support of Dalit voters in Karol Bagh who lived in the slum areas and small colonies for the AAP. Ravi received 52,297 votes, while BJP’s Dushyant Gautam secured 44,867. Congress candidate Rahul Kumar remained in third place with 4,252 votes.
Before the elections, when The Wire had spoken to Dalit voters in the Karol Bagh constituency, it was observed that many traditional Congress-supporting Dalit voters had shifted towards the AAP.
The main reason for this shift was the Kejriwal government’s free water and electricity policy. A large number of Dalit voters in Delhi live in slum areas and depend on daily wage labour or manual work. In such a situation, schemes such as free electricity and water directly influenced Congress’s core Dalit voter base, leading them to support AAP.
AAP’s Pravesh Ratan won the Patel Nagar assembly seat, securing 57,512 votes and defeating BJP’s Raj Kumar Anand by 4,049 votes. Anand, who received 53,463 votes, was among the key Dalit leaders who left the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) before the elections to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress candidate Krishna Tirath finished third with 4,654 votes. Despite switching parties, Anand faced defeat in the election.
AAP fell short in actual development in Dalit-dominated areas
In the Ambedkar Nagar assembly constituency, AAP’s Dr. Ajay Dutt emerged victorious, securing 46,285 votes, while BJP’s Khushi Ram Chunar received 42,055 votes. Congress candidate Jai Prakash finished third with 7,172 votes.
Dalit voters, particularly women, primarily supported AAP in this constituency. From 1993 to 2008, the Congress dominated this seat, but since AAP’s rise in 2013, its candidate has consistently won elections here, including in 2025. The BJP has never won the Ambedkar Nagar assembly seat since 1993.
BJP’s Raj Kumar Chauhan won from the Mangolpuri assembly constituency. Since 2013, AAP’s Rakhi Birla had secured three consecutive victories in Mangolpuri, but this time, AAP changed her constituency, which led to a shift in the contest.
BJP’s Raj Kumar Chauhan secured victory with 62,007 votes, while AAP’s Rakesh Jatav received 55,752 votes. Congress candidate Hanuman Chauhan finished third with 3,784 votes.
Mangolpuri was once a stronghold of the Congress party, but after 2013, AAP continuously won the seat. However, in this election, the BJP candidate secured victory in Mongolpuri.
Also Read: Which Way Will the Dalit Vote Sway in the Delhi Assembly Election?
Since 1993, the party winning the most Dalit-reserved seats has typically remained in power in Delhi. In the 1993 elections, the BJP secured eight out of 13 reserved seats, while Congress won Five. However, in 1998, Congress swept all 13 reserved seats and formed the government. This trend continued in 2003, with Congress winning 11 out of 13 seats and BJP managing only two.
In 2008, the Congress won nine reserved seats, the BJP secured Two, and the BSP gained one seat. The 2013 elections marked a shift with the rise of AAP, which won nine out of 12 reserved seats while the BJP got two and Congress could win just one seat. Thereafter, AAP further strengthened its Dalit vote bank dominance in the 2015 and 2020 elections by winning all 12 reserved seats.
A significant number of Delhi’s Dalit voters reside in small colonies and slum areas, and they traditionally supported Congress before 2013. However, with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), this vote bank gradually shifted in its favour, leading to AAP’s clean sweep of all 12 reserved constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
A major reason for AAP’s success over the past years in reserved constituencies was largely driven by its ‘freebies’ politics, which helped secure Dalit voter’s support.
However, the party fell short in actual development in Dalit-dominated areas. Before the elections, many slums with high Dalit population continued to lack basic amenities, and voters openly expressed their dissatisfaction over the unfulfilled promises of infrastructure improvement.
