New Delhi: New Delhi: On paper, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, winning 48 out of 70 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was reduced to 22. This marks BJP’s best-ever performance in the national capital. On paper it looks like an easy win for BJP, but it was from being one. An analysis of the data on Election Commission’s website throws up interesting facts.
Despite the difference in seats, the vote share gap between BJP and AAP was a mere 2%. While BJP garnered 45.56% of the vote share, AAP got 43.57%. In 14 of BJP’s winning seats, Congress candidates secured more votes than the margin of victory, indirectly denting AAP’s chances. In the end, it was a crucial factor for the defeat of AAP candidates. Experts have pointed that an alliance between the parties might have proved crucial for a fourth term for Arvind Kejriwal as chief minister.
Let’s take a closer look at how the data shaped the final election results.
Margin of victory and key contests
The elections saw intense fight, with 24 seats decided by a margin of 10,000 votes or less. Sangam Vihar saw the closest contest, where BJP’s Chandan Kumar Chaudhary defeated AAP’s Dinesh Mohaniya by only 344 votes. Trilokpuri witnessed the second narrowest victory, with BJP’s Ravikant Ujjain edging out AAP’s Anjana Parcha by 392 votes.
AAP’s Aaley Mohammad secured the biggest victory margin, he won Matia Mahal by 42,724 votes. He was closely followed by fellow AAP leader Zubair Ahmed, who won Seelampur with a margin of 42,477 votes. The largest win for BJP came from Rohini, where Vijender Gupta defeated AAP’s Pradeep Mittal by 37,816 votes.
Vote share and strike rate comparison
BJP improved its performance from the 2020 elections significantly. Its strike rate soared from 11.9% in 2020 to 70.6% in 2025, while AAP’s dropped sharply from 88.6% to 31.4%.
Interestingly, the average number of votes required to win a seat differed significantly:
- BJP: 0.9 lakh votes per seat (down from 4.5 lakh in 2020)
- AAP: 1.9 lakh votes per seat (up from 0.8 lakh in 2020)
The data indicates that the BJP’s votes were more efficiently distributed across constituencies, allowing it to win more seats despite a marginal vote share difference.
Performance in reserved and minority-dominated seats
BJP made significant inroads into Scheduled Caste (SC) constituencies, securing 4 out of 12 reserved seats, the party’s best performance in these areas since 1993. AAP, which had previously dominated SC constituencies by winning all 12 in 2015 and 2020, retained only eight this time.
Among Muslim-majority constituencies, AAP was the clear choice. The party won 5 out of 6 seats where Muslim voters constituted 35-50% of the electorate. However, BJP managed to break through in Mustafabad, winning the seat by 17,578 votes.
Defectors and their fate
Of the 24 candidates who switched parties before the election, only nine emerged victorious, with BJP benefiting the most from defections.
- Kailash Gahlot, a former AAP minister, won Bijwasan on a BJP ticket by 11,276 votes.
- Arvinder Singh Lovely, ex-Delhi Congress chief, secured Gandhi Nagar for BJP with a 12,748-vote margin.
- Tarvinder Singh Marwah, a former Congress MLA, defeated AAP’s Manish Sisodia in Jangpura as a BJP candidate.
Two former BJP leaders who defected to AAP—Pravesh Ratn (Patel Nagar) and Anil Jha (Kirari)—managed to win their seats. However, AAP defectors who joined Congress largely failed to make an impact.
Women representation
The 2025 election saw a record 95 women contesting, the highest female participation in decades (13.6% of total candidates). However, the number of elected women dropped from eight in 2020 to just five in 2025. BJP fielded nine women, of whom four won, while AAP had only one victorious female candidate. Delhi CM Atishi managed to retain her Kalkaji seat for AAP.
BJP’s dominance in Lok Sabha segments
BJP’s dominance extended across five of Delhi’s seven parliamentary constituencies:
- West Delhi: BJP won 9 of 10 assembly segments.
- North-West Delhi: BJP secured 8 out of 10.
- New Delhi: BJP won 7 seats while AAP claimed 3.
- Chandni Chowk: BJP won 6 of 10 seats.
- North-East & South Delhi: AAP and BJP were tied with 5 seats each.
With BJP’s overwhelming victory, Delhi’s political landscape has undergone a seismic shift. The results mark a dramatic reversal from 2020 and 2015 when AAP dominated the assembly. While AAP retains strongholds in some Muslim-majority and reserved constituencies, its losses in several key areas suggest a significant challenge for the party’s leadership.
