BJP bulldozes AAP heavyweights; Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia suffer shock defeat

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made a historic comeback in Delhi after 27 long years by sweeping away Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The magnitude of AAP's rout in Delhi was accentuated by the stunning defeats of its two top leaders—former CM Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. BJP leader Parvesh Verma defeated the AAP supremo in New Delhi by over 4,000 votes. Sisodia lost to BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah with a margin of just over 600 votes.

There was only one saving grace which came from Chief Minister Atishi, who managed to retain Kalkaji. The AAP leader defeated BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri in a close contest.

The election proved to be a dramatic downslide for the AAP, which was eyeing a record third consecutive term relying on its welfare schemes and Kejriwal's popularity. However, the saffron party - riding high on the recent poll victories in Haryana and Maharashtra - left no stone unturned to uproot AAP. With the party's as well as Kejriwal's loss in the national capital, the fate of AAP appears to be bleak.

In the last Delhi elections, AAP secured a landslide victory with 62 out of 70 seats while BJP bagged just eight.

What led to AAP's crushing defeat?

• Liquor scam - The now-scrapped liquor policy of the AAP goverment is one of the major causes why the party failed to taste success. The party witnessed a massive uproar over corruption allegations and investigations by central agencies evven led to the arrest of top leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. With Kejriwal's arrest, Atishi took over as the CM. The arrests of these leaders kept the AAP in firefighting mode throughout ahead of the elections.

As the counting of votes continued, activist Anna Hazare declare that Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP "drowned" due to the liquor policy and its focus on money, failing to understand its duty to serve people selflessly. "With the liquor policy issue came the money and they drowned in it. The (AAP's) image was tarnished. People saw he (Arvind Kejriwal) talks about clean character and then about liquor," Hazare said.

• Sheesh Mahal - Ahead of the elections, the BJP stepped up its attack on former Arvind Kejriwal claiming he broke his promise to reside in a two-room home and instead established a 'den of loot' called Sheesh Mahal when in office. The saffron party said that while the former CM had made big promises to end the VIP culture, however, he shattered the trust of the public after his party came to power.

The BJP released a video giving a tour of Delhi chief minister's residence, which it claims was turned into a 'Sheesh Mahal' during Kejriwal's tenure. "Kejriwal, who once spoke against taking a bungalow, built a 52-crore palace with the hard earned money of the public," the BJP stated. The party alleged that the CM residence includes remote-controlled curtains worth Rs 5 crore, automatic doors costing Rs 70 lakh, TVs worth over Rs 65 lakh, remote-controlled lights worth Rs 30 lakh, and more.

• Yamuna poison - The war of words over Yamuna waters intensified ahead of the elections with both the BJP and Congress attacking the AAP over Kejriwal's 'poison in Yamuna' remark. CM Atishi and AAP supremo Kejriwal accused Haryana of mixing poison in the Yamuna river that supplies water to Delhi. The BJP leaders had accused Kejriwal of spreading fear not only among Delhi's people but also among Haryana's citizens with his false claims.

Exit poll prediction

A poll of 10 exit polls predicted 41 seats for BJP in the 70-member Delhi assembly and 29 for AAP. The exit polls have predicted that Congress is set to secure a hattrick of its own in the national capital by drawing yet another blank in the 2025 elections.

Most exit polls predicted 0-1 seats for Congress in Delhi, with only Chanakaya Strategies giving 2-3 seats to the grand old party.