New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) Saturday ended its decades-long electoral drought in Delhi’s Meeting elections, however a dozen of the 70 seats saved the occasion management on tenterhooks till the ultimate outcomes.
These had been seats the BJP had not gained since 2008, with 9 remaining elusive since 1993—when Delhi’s first Meeting elections had been held, changing the sooner Delhi Metropolitan Council—and three slipping out of attain since their creation after the 2008 delimitation.
Amongst them had been Matia Mahal and Ballimaran within the Walled Metropolis, together with Ambedkar Nagar, Seelampur, Okhla, Sultanpur Majra, Mangolpuri, Jangpura, and Deoli; in addition to New Delhi, Vikaspuri, and Kondli—none of which had gone to the BJP since 2008.
Nonetheless, the occasion Saturday managed to interrupt the jinx with the BJP successful 4 of the 12 seats—Jangpura, New Delhi, Mangolpuri and Vikaspuri. The Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP) gained the remaining eight, bringing its complete tally to 22 seats.
The BJP bagged 49 out of 70 seats in 1993 when senior occasion chief Madan Lal Khurana turned chief minister. The as soon as dominant Congress then was lowered to only 14 seats.
BJP’s Parvesh Verma ended Arvind Kejriwal’s successful streak in New Delhi as he defeated him by 4,089 votes. In 2020, Kejriwal had gained the seat by a niche of over 21,000 votes, defeating BJP’s Sunil Yadav. The AAP chief has represented the seat since 2013. Earlier than that, Sheila Dikshit had gained the seat thrice—in 1998 and 2003, when it was known as the Gole Market constituency, and in 2008, when it was renamed because the New Delhi constituency submit delimitation.
5 of the 12 seats—Sultanpur Majra, Ambedkar Nagar, Deoli, Mangolpuri and Kondli—are reserved for Scheduled Castes and the occasion’s efforts to succeed in out to the Dalit neighborhood yielded outcomes, a senior occasion chief advised ThePrint.
Most of the remaining constituencies—together with Matia Mahal, Seelampur, Okhla and Ballimaran—have a large Muslim inhabitants.
“The reserved seats had plenty of slums and, up to now, we had not been in a position to faucet them. However the truth that PM Modi in his speeches spoke at size about giving pucca ghar to slum dwellers as soon as voted to energy and the truth that plenty of welfare measures had been introduced for them helped us to attach with them,” stated a senior BJP chief.
Furthermore, BJP leaders advised ThePrint that they actively countered what they known as AAP’s ‘faux narrative’—that the occasion would demolish slums and finish welfare schemes if voted to energy. Within the closing days earlier than polling, PM Modi instantly refuted these claims, assuring voters that the BJP ensures no slum in Delhi might be demolished and that welfare schemes will proceed.
One other occasion functionary credited the BJP’s Ratri Pravas Samvad Abhiyaan for serving to them join with slum dwellers. As a part of this initiative, launched in November 2024 underneath Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, a number of occasion leaders engaged with residents throughout 250 jhuggi clusters within the metropolis.
“The concept was to not solely go to their properties however via that train perceive their issues and supply an alternate,” stated one other Delhi BJP chief.
Delhi’s slum dwellers are a vital vote financial institution eyed by all political events. In response to estimates by events, round 20 lakh individuals dwell in Delhi’s slums.
They had been historically supporters of the Congress, particularly underneath former chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s tenure, however the AAP managed to win them over through the Meeting elections of 2013 and 2015 via a collection of focused insurance policies, akin to mohalla clinics, discount in energy and water payments, and offering fundamental facilities in slum clusters.
On the identical time, whereas the AAP tried to woo the slum dwellers by asserting a collection of welfare initiatives, the BJP, particularly via the speeches of PM Modi, pressured on handing over ‘pucca’ homes to slum dwellers to strengthen its political maintain.
Delhi BJP SC Morcha president Mohan Lal Gihara advised ThePrint that its efforts helped the occasion in strengthening its place and the voters have responded to it.
“Our focus was on reaching out to jhuggis (slum clusters) and even unauthorised colonies to know the issues of the individuals. Many shared that not having their very own pucca home was a serious concern for them. On the identical time, lack of fundamental facilities in these slums additionally was a matter of concern, one thing which we’ve got promised to rectify,” he stated.
The BJP managed to win the New Delhi seat for the primary time because it got here into existence in 2008.
On the parliamentary degree, the BJP has been profitable in Delhi, successful all seven Lok Sabha seats in 2014, 2019 and 2024. Nonetheless, Meeting outcomes had been disappointing for it, with the occasion holding simply eight of 70 seats until earlier than the 2025 polls. The AAP had gained 62 seats in 2020.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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