Legislative Assembly elections were held in Delhi on 5 February 2025 to elect all 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes and declaration of results took place on 8 February 2025.
The Bharatiya Janata Party won in 48 out of 70 seats, thus returning to power in Delhi after 27 years. Rekha Gupta, the MLA from Shalimar Bagh, took oath as the Chief Minister on 20 February 2025.
Background
The previous Delhi Legislative Assembly elections were held in February 2020, resulting in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) forming the state government. Arvind Kejriwal assumed the post of Chief Minister for a third consecutive term.
Arrest of Arvind Kejriwal
After skipping nine summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on 21 March 2024 by the ED after the Delhi High Court rejected his anticipatory bail in connection with the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case. This made him the first sitting chief minister of India to be arrested (all others arrested before him had resigned from their post before being arrested). The opposition alliance called it a fabricated case and "match-fixing" before the 2024 general elections by the Bharatiya Janata Party led union government. The Delhi High Court dismissed Kejriwal's petition against his arrest and all his bail requests. The Supreme Court ultimately granted him interim bail from 10 May 2024 to 1 June 2024 on account of campaigning for the elections.
Following the end of his interim bail and failure to extend it on medical grounds, Kejriwal surrendered at Tihar Jail on 2 June. He was then sent to judicial custody until 5 June 2024. A Delhi court denied the plea filed by Kejriwal seeking a seven-day interim bail and extended judicial custody until 19 June and subsequently till 3 July 2024. On 20 June 2024 Kejriwal was granted bail by the trial court on a bail bond of 100,000 INR. However, his bail was put on hold before his release as ED appealed against it in the Delhi High Court. Kejriwal was then questioned for 3 days by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and arrested on 26 June 2024 from Tihar Jail in the same case. Subsequently, he was sent to judicial custody till 12 July.
On 12 July 2024, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. However, he remained in jail due to the CBI arrest made in the previous month. On 5 September 2024, the Supreme court reserved an order on his bail in the CBI case. The reserved order was pronounced by the SC on 13 September 2024, granting him bail and ultimately leading to his release from Tihar Jail after five months. However he served in prison for more than 5 months.
On 21 September 2024, Kejriwal resigned after being jailed on corruption charges, and Atishi Marlena was sworn in as the Chief Minister. The tenure of the 7th Delhi Assembly is set to conclude on 15 February 2025. Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia had previously resigned on 28 February 2023 due to his arrest on corruption charges. He served 17 months in jail until his release on bail on 9 August 2024. Minister Satyendra Kumar Jain also resigned due to corruption charges.
Schedule
Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Delhi Legislative Assembly election on 7 January 2025.
Issues
Local Governance & Infrastructure Issues
Voters in Delhi expressed deep frustration over the failure to clean the Yamuna River a promise made by the AAP government in 2020 that remained unfulfilled. The sanitation and waste management crisis further fueled discontent, with over 90% of respondents in the Lokniti-CSDS Survey expressing dissatisfaction with the overall cleanliness of the city. Additionally, air pollution and the shortage of clean drinking water emerged as major concerns, with more than 80% of voters highlighting these as pressing issues. These factors collectively contributed to the electorate's growing disillusionment with the AAP government's performance on environmental and civic infrastructure matters.
Corruption Allegations & Leadership Credibility
According to the Lokniti-CSDS Survey, nearly two-thirds of respondents perceived the AAP government as corrupt, with 28% categorizing it as highly corrupt. Two specific controversies played a significant role in shaping public perception regarding corruption within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The first was the alleged irregularities in the liquor policy, while the second centered on the controversial expenditures on the Chief Minister's residence, which the BJP referred to as 'Sheesh Mahal'. Both issues were prominently highlighted in the BJP's anti-corruption campaign against AAP, contributing to the party's declining credibility and electoral setbacks. Additionally, several key AAP leaders suffered electoral defeats, reflecting growing public disillusionment with the party's governance and its ability to deliver on its promises.
Campaigns
Aam Aadmi Party
The Aam Aadmi Party campaign was kickstarted by Arvind Kejriwal. As part of its campaign the party announced various schemes such as the Mahila Samman Yojana that would include providing monthly financial assistance of ₹2,100 to women and the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana that would provide financial assistance of ₹18,000 to temple pujaris and granthis of gurudwaras.
Bharatiya Janata Party
The opposition BJP started its campaign with the Parivartan Yatra, highlighting the corruption of the AAP government. Key issues used by the party includes controversy regarding Sheesh Mahal, liquor policy, and Yamuna river pollution. Later prime minister Narendra Modi officially launched the party campaign at a rally in Rohini, where he criticized the government on issues of water shortages, pollution etc. as well as calling the government an "Aapda" (transl. Disaster).
Manifesto
The BJP's election manifesto focused on welfare, governance, and anti-corruption measures, targeting women, senior citizens, and underprivileged communities. The manifesto promised to implement the Mahila Samridhi Yojana, providing ₹2,500 per month to women, along with ₹21,000 and six nutrition kits for pregnant women under the Matri Suraksha Vandana scheme.
The BJP pledged to increase pensions for senior citizens, widows, and destitute women, while introducing subsidies for LPG cylinders and free cylinders on Holi and Diwali. Additionally, it proposed establishing Atal Canteens to provide affordable meals for ₹5 in slum clusters. The manifesto also emphasized continuing all existing welfare schemes, including free electricity for households consuming up to 200 units and free DTC bus rides for women, while vowing to eradicate corruption and implement Central government schemes like Ayushman Bharat Yojana which have been blocked by the incumbent AAP government.
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress announced that it would hold a month-long Dillī Nyāya Yātrā in November (transl. Delhi Justice March) to attack the state and central governments on issues such as pollution, inflation, unemployment, and garbage disposal.
The yatra was launched by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on 8 November and was to cover all seventy assembly constituencies in four phases. The first phase of the yatra was launched in Rajghat on 8 November 2024 and ended in Shalimar Bagh on 13 November, covering 15 assembly constituencies. The second phase of the yatra started from Gokulpuri in North East Delhi on 16 November until 20 November, covering 16 assembly constituencies. In the second phase, party chief Yadav highlighted sanitation, problems faced by daily wagers and hawkers as the main issues plaguing Delhi. The third phase started from Valmiki Mandir at Palam village on 22 November. The party accused the AAP state government of failing to resolve basic problems, such as supply of dirty water, increased electricity bills, long wait for ration cards and pension for beneficiaries in the 10 last years. The march concluded on 7 December 2024.
Delhi PCC chief Devender Yadav criticised Kejriwal for promising ₹2,100 per month to Delhi women, saying that the AAP had failed to fulfil its promise of giving ₹1,000 per month to women in Punjab.
Manifesto
The Congress party announced that it would provide universal health insurance to all Delhi residents covering costs up to ₹25 lakhs, akin to the Right to Health Act it passed in Rajasthan during its rule in the state.
On January 6, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar announced the Pyari Didi Yojna, a proposed scheme that would provide financial assistance of ₹2,500 per month to women in Delhi, should the Congress party come to power. He highlighted that this initiative would be modeled after the Gruha Lakshmi scheme implemented by the Congress government in Karnataka, which he said benefited 1.22 crore women in the state. He further claimed that all guarantees made by the Congress in Karnataka were met within three months of taking office.
Surveys and polls
Exit Polls
Source
Aftermath
The BJP returned to power in Delhi after 27 years. On 20 February, Rekha Gupta took oath as the new chief minister, being the fourth BJP CM from the state.