The stage is set for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, with over 1.5 crore eligible voters deciding the fate of 70 assembly seats. A total of 699 candidates—603 men, 95 women, and one third-gender person—are in the fray. Polling begins at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm across 13,766 polling booths.
In previous elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured consecutive landslide victories, winning 67 out of 70 seats in 2015 and 62 in 2020. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) improved marginally in 2020, winning eight seats, while the Congress failed to secure any. This year, all three parties are in a fierce electoral battle, promising voters a range of welfare schemes and policy initiatives.
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Delhi Election 2025: Key Contests and Candidates
Several constituencies are expected to see intense competition. AAP leader and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is up against BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit. Current Chief Minister Atishi faces BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress’s Alka Lamba.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, shifting from Patparganj to Jangpura, will contest against BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah and Congress’s Farhad Suri. In Ballimaran, former Congress minister Haroon Yusuf is locked in a close contest with AAP’s incumbent Imran Hussain. Other key constituencies include Greater Kailash, Malviya Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Mangolpuri, and Matia Mahal.
Delhi Election 2025: Poll Promises and Campaign Pitches
AAP has highlighted its existing welfare schemes, such as free electricity and water for low consumers, free bus travel for women, and improved healthcare and education services, claiming they help households save nearly Rs 25,000 per month. Additional pledges include a Rs 2,100 monthly honorarium for eligible women, free treatment for senior citizens, and free travel for students.
BJP has vowed to continue existing schemes while introducing its own welfare measures, including a Rs 2,500 monthly honorarium for women, higher pensions for senior citizens, the implementation of Ayushman Bharat in Delhi, and a Rs 500 gas cylinder scheme for the underprivileged.
Congress, striving for a comeback, has promised Rs 8,500 per month for unemployed individuals for a year, Rs 2,500 per month for women under the ‘Pyari Didi Yojana’, and free electricity for consumers using up to 300 units.
Delhi Election 2025: Electoral Commission and Security Measures
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer R Alice Vaz assured voters of a free and fair election. Over 1.1 lakh officials, including polling teams, expenditure monitors, and volunteers, will oversee the process, with 60,000 security personnel ensuring law and order.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava said, “After the polling process is over, we’ll ensure that the EVMs and all polling-related materials are escorted back to their storage rooms safely.”
Vaz also stated that a paid holiday has been declared for all employees in government and private sectors, including those working in Delhi but residing in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, to encourage voter participation.
Delhi’s Political Landscape and National Significance
This election marks the first major political contest of 2025 and could impact national politics. Delhi’s diverse electorate—spanning urban professionals, students, business owners, and migrant workers—reflects India’s broader demographics.
The election is also seen as a referendum on AAP’s governance, particularly following corruption allegations that led to high-profile arrests of party leaders. The BJP aims to capitalise on anti-incumbency sentiment and replicate its 2024 general election performance, where it won all seven Delhi parliamentary seats. Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva remarked, “We will win on the back of the hard work of our workers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Kejriwal has looted and deceived Delhi.”
Meanwhile, Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav expressed confidence in his party’s resurgence, saying, “We have been interacting with people since our Nyay Yatra in December, and looking at a big shift in the political scenario of Delhi. It is very likely that when the results come this time, we may see a Congress government in Delhi.”
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Issues at the Forefront
Beyond welfare schemes, voters are likely to consider key issues such as corruption, civic infrastructure, crime rates, and governance disputes between the state government and the Lieutenant Governor. The upcoming government will need to navigate Delhi’s complex power structure, where land, law and order, and police remain under central control.
Delhi voter Ruchika Dhir, a 43-year-old IT professional, stressed the importance of high turnout, saying, “It’s not only our right but moral responsibility to vote. The city needs to be in good hands and I hope the government takes good care of the Capital and its people.”
With the vote count scheduled for February 8, the outcome of this tightly contested election could have lasting implications for Delhi’s future and the national political landscape.
