Delhi Assembly polls: BJP crosses majority mark in early trends
What's the story
The counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly election began around 8:00am on Saturday.
Nearly an hour into the vote counting, early trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) crossing the halfway mark of 36. The party was leading in 38 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was trailing with 26 seats.
The results will decide if Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP gets a fourth consecutive term or if the BJP will form a government after 27 years.
Twitter Post
We are going to form the government: Sisodia
#WATCH | AAP candidate from Jangpura assembly constituency Manish Sisodia says, "Everyone has anxiety on result day. we are human too... But, we have this faith that we are going to form the govt as we have worked under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal. People have voted for the… pic.twitter.com/MMQovWkSIa
— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2025
Candidate overview
699 candidates vied for votes in Delhi elections
A total of 699 candidates, including 603 men and 96 women, contested in the elections.
Notable candidates included former Chief Minister Kejriwal from the AAP, Parvesh Verma from the BJP and Sandeep Dikshit from the Congress.
Exit polls have largely predicted a victory for the BJP. Projections show BJP could win between 35 to 49 seats, while the AAP could get between 21 to 37 seats.
The Congress party is expected to win up to three seats.
Poll predictions
Exit polls predict BJP's victory in Delhi elections
A party needs 36 seats to form a majority in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
In the 2015 and 2020 elections, the AAP won 67 out of 70 seats and 62 seats, respectively. Compared to 2015, when it won just three seats, the BJP saw a slight improvement in 2020, winning eight seats, while the Congress did not win any.
The Congress was once again wiped out in the 2020 election too.
Manifestos
Election manifestos promised freebies
The election manifestos of all three parties have promised freebies like monthly grants for women and free healthcare for the elderly.
The AAP has promised free bus rides and schemes for youth and auto-taxi drivers, among others, while the Congress has promised free healthcare, electricity, and a free ration kit every month with rice, sugar, oil, and wheat.
The BJP, meanwhile, has promised a stipend scheme for Scheduled Caste students, 33% job reservation for women, among others.