Delhi has delivered a decisive mandate, granting a two-thirds majority to the development-driven vision of the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party has returned to power in Delhi after 27 years. The resounding verdict is a clear rejection of the politics of anarchy and deception that Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP introduced and perfected over the past decade. The people of Delhi have finally seen through AAP’s hollow promises and double-speak, as the city suffered a steep decline on all fronts under its misrule.
AAP rose to power by capitalising on the anti-corruption movement led by Ramdev, Anna Hazare and other civil society groups, which had exposed the deep-rooted corruption of the Congress regime. However, Kejriwal hijacked the movement for his political ambitions, forming a party that promised to end corruption and bring efficient governance. What did Delhi get instead? Scandals, mismanagement and the theatrics of a ghost government — where the chief minister held no ministry and took no real responsibility. This abdication of duty and betrayal of the people became the defining characteristic of AAP’s rule. Delhi was left to deteriorate while Kejriwal focused on self-promotion, blame games and political expansion.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, Delhi witnessed the true face of AAP — a government that abandoned its people in their darkest hour. As oxygen shortages claimed lives and hospitals ran out of beds, the AAP government failed to coordinate even basic emergency services. In a cruel betrayal, AAP pushed millions of migrant workers into despair, leaving them stranded without food or shelter. In both waves of the pandemic, Kejriwal’s government simply vanished, forcing the central government to step in and take control to save lives. On the ground, the cadre of the RSS and BJP rose to the occasion, ensuring relief, medical aid, and logistical support for struggling families — while AAP’s leaders hid behind press conferences and propaganda.
Remember the incessant advertisement of the “world-class” mohalla clinics? The reality on the ground is a complete collapse of healthcare services. These clinics became nothing more than photo-ops, while major government hospitals suffered underfunding and mismanagement. Patients struggled to get essential medicines, and life-saving surgeries were delayed due to the lack of staff and resources.
Despite being India’s largest metropolitan powerhouse, Delhi witnessed a cataclysmic collapse of urban governance and infrastructure under AAP’s rule. As monsoon waterlogging wreaked havoc and summer droughts left citizens parched, the city spiralled into a state of lawlessness and decay. It choked under smog in winter, while the Yamuna turned toxic after entering Delhi even as water treatment plants malfunctioned due to negligence. Meanwhile, Kejriwal and his team were busy expanding into Punjab and Gujarat, treating Delhi like an afterthought in their political ambitions.
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One of the biggest myths AAP sold to the people was the so-called education revolution. It was all a carefully orchestrated PR stunt. While Kejriwal and his ministers toured schools with cameras, basic facilities like clean toilets, libraries, and laboratories were missing. Instead of genuinely reforming education, AAP spent crores on advertising its non-existent success.
No government has displayed as much apathy towards Dalits and marginalised communities as AAP. It consistently neglected Delhi’s rural areas and agricultural belts, treating them as if they were not even part of the capital. Unsurprisingly, these segments have delivered a sharp rebuke to AAP’s elitist politics, which viewed the poor and marginalised merely as vote banks to be lured with freebies, devoid of any real dignity or empowerment.
The party that claimed to be an anti-corruption crusader proved to be the most corrupt political formation in recent memory. When people were fighting to survive during the pandemic, Kejriwal and AAP were orchestrating the liquor scam. When people were struggling with the collapsing infrastructure, Kejriwal was building his Sheesh Mahal. AAP betrayed Delhi. It misused public funds, lied about governance, and turned its back on the people who trusted it. Now, the people have held it accountable. The 2025 election results are not just a defeat for AAP but a resounding rejection of its lies, arrogance, and politics of anarchy.
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People have rewarded the hard work and resilience of the BJP. Despite not having been in power for almost three decades, the BJP retained and expanded its voter base, demonstrating the importance of ideology and organisation, unlike the politics of convenience of AAP. Unlike the theatrics of AAP and noise by the Congress, the BJP focused on the on-ground campaign and election management, with its senior leaders hitting the ground with small drawing-room meetings. A carefully crafted campaign and comprehensive manifesto left no social, economic, professional or regional category behind. The BJP’s youth wing ensured special outreach to rural Delhi under its ‘Youth Connect with Delhi Dehat’, under which more than 500 youth and student leaders from different political parties and social organisations joined the BJP.
This election witnessed a spontaneous and autonomous mobilisation of the people, who convened meetings and actively reinforced the call for change. It clearly demonstrates that people are seeking a government capable of delivering serious, stable governance to address the complex challenges of urban administration. It is no surprise that when the question is of governance and development, the people’s unequivocal choice remains the BJP.
The writer is national vice-president of the BJP youth wing and member of the election management committee of the Delhi BJP for youth and special outreach
