The assembly elections in Delhi are expected to be held in early 2025 with the term of its 70-member House ending on February 23, 2025. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are the main contenders in the elections.
The AAP and Congress - INDIA bloc allies – have decided to go solo in the assembly elections, months after the parties fought the Lok Sabha Elections in Delhi together. However, the effort ended in a debacle as the BJP won all the seven seats. The parties have been engaging in a bitter political fight, targeting each other over issues ranging from corruption and free welfare schemes, like free water, power, education, health and bus travel. The Delhi Congress has even released a 12-point “white paper” against the AAP and BJP for mismanagement of pollution, civic facilities and law and order in the national capital.
Yamuna pollution, worsening air quality, waterlogging during rains, Bangladesh ‘infiltrators’ and alleged tampering with voter lists were the other flashpoints.Clash between the AAP and BJP over the renovated official residence of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the power tussle between Atishi-led administration and Lt Governor VK Saxena dominated the political discourse through the year. The AAP and BJP also accused each other of manipulating the voters' list ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. However, the controversy will likely be settled early next month when the Chief Electoral Office (Delhi) publishes the final list of electoral rolls. In the 2020 assembly elections, the AAP won 62 of the 70 seats and BJP secured eight seats. While the Delhi assembly election results will decide the future of AAP on the national stage, especially in the INDIA bloc, the BJP’s success in recent Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra has raised expectations of its supporters. For the Congress, the Delhi performance has been dismal as it failed to win a single seat in the last two elections.
