BJP storms to power in Delhi after 27 years with two-thirds majority, AAP reduced to 22 seats

New Delhi [India], February 9 : BJP stormed to power in Delhi polls on Saturday winning a two-thirds majority with the ruling AAP suffering major blows and a drastic reduction in its numbers in the 70-member assembly. The Congress continued its dismal run.
Bharatiya Janata Party won 48 seats in a historic mandate for the party as it returned to power in the national capital after 27 years. Several AAP leaders including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lost in their strongholds with Chief Minister Atishi managing to retain her seat.
The verdict came months after BJP-led coalition swept Maharashtra polls and the party won Haryana, consolidating its domination of national politics.
The Congress, which was hoping for its revival in the national captial, again failed to win any seat. The party, which ruled Delhi for 15 years from 1998, registered a hat-trick zero tally in assembly polls.
PM Modi lauded BJP's victory in a speech at the party headquarters in the evening.
"...There is no such area in Delhi where the lotus did not bloom. People speaking every language have voted for BJP. During this election, wherever I went, I used to say proudly that I am an MP from Purvanchal. The people of Purvanchal have given love to this bond. Therefore, as the MP from Purvanchal, I thank the people of Purvanchal," he said.
He also took jibes at Aam Aadmi Party, referring to it as "AAPda". The Prime Minister also targeted Congress, saying it has scored "double hat-trick of zero" in Delhi elections.
"Dilli ke logo ne shortcut wali rajneeti ka short-circuit kar diya'. Today the people of Delhi have made it clear. The real owner of Delhi is only the people of Delhi. Those who thought of being the owners of Delhi have been confronted with the truth. This is also clear from the mandate of Delhi that there is no place for shortcuts, lies in politics. 'Dilli ke logo ne shortcut vali rajneeti ka short-circuit kar diya'," he said.
"...I was seeing that BJP workers across the country also had a pain in their hearts. It was about not being able to serve Delhi fully. But today Delhi has accepted our request too. The youth born in the 21st century will now see BJP's good governance in Delhi for the first time. Today's results show how much trust the country has in BJP's double-engine government. After that victory in the Lok Sabha elections, we first made an unprecedented record in Haryana, then made a new record in Maharashtra. Now a new history has been created in Delhi," he added.
Earlier, PM Modi lauded BJP's victory in a post on X and said it was triumph of "good governance" of the party at Centre and in states it is in power. He said the party will leave no stone unturned in developing Delhi and improving the overall quality of life for the people.
"Jana Shakti is paramount! Development wins, good governance triumphs. I bow to my dear sisters and brothers of Delhi for this resounding and historic mandate to @BJP4India. We are humbled and honoured to receive these blessings. It is our guarantee that we will leave no stone unturned in developing Delhi, improving the overall quality of life for the people and ensuring that Delhi has a prime role to play in building a Viksit Bharat," he said.
"I am so proud of each and every @BJP4India Karyakarta, who has worked very hard, leading to this outstanding result. We will work even more vigorously and serve the wonderful people of Delhi," he added.
Apart from Kejriwal, several senior AAP leaders lost the polls including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, former ministers Somnath Bharti and Satyendra Jain and party leaders Awadh Ojha and Durgesh Pathak. Chief Minister Atishi won from Kalkaji.
Kejriwal accepted the people's mandate and congratulated BJP on its victory.
"We accept the mandate of the people with great humility. I congratulate the BJP for this victory and I hope they will fulfil all the promises for which people have voted for them," Kejriwal said in a video posted on X.
"We have done a lot of work in the field of health, education, infrastructure in the last 10 years. We will not only play the role of a constructive opposition but will also remain among the people and continue to serve them. We did not come into politics for the sake of power, we considered politics as a medium through which the people can be served," he added.
The results were largely in accordance with prediction of exit polls, which had predicted a BJP victory.
In New Delhi seat, BJP's Parvesh Verma defeated Kejriwal by over 4,000 votes. Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit got 4,568 votes. Atishi defeated BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri by over 3,500 votes in Kalkaji. Alka Lamba of Congress got 4,392 votes.
"I thank the people of Kalkaji for showing trust in me. I congratulate my team who worked against 'baahubal'...We accept the people's mandate. I have won but it's not a time to celebrate but continue the 'war' against the BJP," Atishi told reporters.
Sisodia lost from Jangpura to BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah by a narrow margin of 675 votes.Conceding defeat, he said he hopes the winning candidate (Tarvinder Singh Marwah) works for the constituency.
Atishi expressed gratitude to people for expressing support.Gopal Rai won the Babarpur assembly seat by a margin of 18,994 votes. He defeated BJP's Anil Kumar Vashisht.Kailash Gahlot, who left AAP to join BJP months ahead of the polls, won from Bijwasan assembly constituency.
He defeated AAP's Surender Bhardwaj with a comfortable margin.Some other prominent winners of BJP included Vijender Gupta from Rohini, Kapil Mishra from Karawal Nagar and Ravinder Singh Negi from Patparganj.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed gratitude to the people of Delhi for giving the mandate to BJP.
"Delhi ke Dil mein Modi (Modi in the heart of Delhi). This is a victory of 'Modi ki Guarantee' and the faith of Delhiites in Modi ji's vision of development. Heartfelt gratitude to the people of Delhi for this massive mandate. Under the leadership of Modiji, BJP is determined to fulfil all its promises and make Delhi the number-1 capital of the world," Amit Shah said.
"People have responded to the dirty Yamuna, dirty drinking water, broken roads, overflowing sewers and liquor shops open in every street with their votes. I heartily congratulate all the workers of BJP Delhi who worked day and night for this grand victory in Delhi," he added.
AAP swept the polls in the last two assembly polls. It won 62 out of the 70 seats in 2020 and got 67 seats in 2015.The counting votes was taken up on Saturday morning. Votes were polled on February 5.