These were the most significant elections in the\u2002Indian political calendar, the Delhi Assembly elections of 2025. The contest had high stakes because Delhi is the political and administrative capital of the\u2002country and Delhi went to polls to elect the assembly that will rule the National Capital Territory (NCT) for another five years. The votes settled the composition of the 70-member\u2002legislative assembly. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) crossed the majority mark and made a comeback after 27 years defeating Aam Admi Party (AAP).<\/p>\n
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the election schedule well ahead of time, laying the ground for\u2002a strong democratic process. The Gazette circulated the notification on January 10, 2025, and the candidates submitted their nominations till January 17. Nominations were filed on January 18 and the\u2002deadline for withdrawal of nominations was January 20. The voting was done on February 5 and counting on\u2002February 8. The national\u2002capital saw a 60.24% turnout on February 5 in the high-stakes triangular contest.<\/p>\n
The 2025 elections saw a triangular contest between the AAP, the BJP and the Indian National\u2002Congress. Each party\u2019s new faces took on old foes, whether they represented old or new parties while employing parties\u2019 divergent agendas and strategies to try to\u2002win over Delhi\u2019s many electorates.<\/p>\n
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP):<\/strong> AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal, had hoped to\u2002win a third consecutive term. AAP campaigned on its track record in education, healthcare and public\u2002welfare, and swept the 2020 elections winning 62 of the 70 seats, The party focused on its governance model while it was also claiming to have delivered on\u2002the promises made during its earlier tenure. But, as of writing the article, AAP won 13 seats and leading on 9. The manifesto focuses on things such as extending free electricity\u2002and water schemes, bettering health infrastructure and introducing urban mobility projects such as increasing bus services and extending metro connectivity. The curtailed mandate suggested a change in voter priorities and reflected, in part, displeasure with the party\u2019s performance in\u2002areas like the economy.<\/p>\n Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP):<\/strong> The BJP had performed poorly in the\u2002assembly elections in a state where it has significant strength at the national level. The\u2002party won 8 seats in 2020 and failed to form a government. In the run-up to the 2025 elections, the BJP emphasised urban issues like infrastructure development and law and\u2002order. This time, the BJP was able to be\u2002ahead of others winning 25 seats and leading on 23. The BJP\u2019s manifesto featured pledges on better waste\u2002disposal, measures to control pollution, Rs 2500 to women, modernising road infrastructure and employing the youth. The BJP\u2019s victory\u2002was indicative of a well-oiled campaign, appealing to the urban electorate through a lens of development and governance.<\/p>\n Indian National Congress:<\/strong> The Congress, once the all-powerful enemy of the BJP in Delhi,\u2002had suffered an incredible collapse, losing all seats in the 2020 elections. In the 2025 elections, the party fought all 70 seats separately hoping to revive\u2002its base. Despite\u2002these efforts, the Congress received 0 seats. The party\u2019s manifesto emphasized affordable housing, women\u2019s safety,\u2002and rejuvenating public education and health care systems.<\/p>\n A few constituencies\u2002became battlegrounds in the elections:<\/p>\n The final voter\u2002list published on January 6, 2025, had a total of 1,55,24,858 registered voters, which was a 1.09% increase over the previous roll. Constituting all segments of society, people across the age pyramid, socio-economic classes and caste groups, Delhi\u2019s electorate\u2002remained one of the most heterogeneous in the country. It’s this diversity that was critical to forming the electoral narrative and\u2002how campaigns were run. All major parties targeted voters in this demographic, promising measures in\u2002their manifestoes to address safety, welfare, and empowerment.<\/p>\n With the announcement of election dates, the Model Code of Conduct\u2002(MCC) came into effect. The behaviour of political parties and candidates was regulated through the MCC (model code of conduct)\u2002to provide a sense of a fair and transparent electoral process. To implement these guidelines, the ECI, along\u2002with local authorities, strived to ensure adherence, observe campaign conduct, and promptly address any violations. Technology was used to the fullest, namely apps to monitor poll violations and\u2002ensure that voters had the appropriate provisions made to ensure their access.<\/p>\n All the campaigns for the 2025 elections were centred on a combination of governance,\u2002development and social issues:<\/p>\n The Election Commission, in conjunction with law enforcement agencies in Delhi, established strict protocols to ensure a free\u2002and fair election system. Poll\u2002centres had sufficient security personnel while malpractices were curbed through surveillance mechanisms. No efforts were spared also to address\u2002the grievances of voters and facilitate the differently-abled. Polling sites were outfitted with new technology\u2002to ensure the voting process went smoothly, and voter turnout is being carefully checked so that it can be fair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These were the most significant elections in the\u2002Indian political calendar, the Delhi Assembly elections of 2025. The contest had high stakes because Delhi is the political and administrative capital of the\u2002country and Delhi went to polls to elect the assembly that will rule the National Capital Territory (NCT) for another five years. The votes settled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21869,"featured_media":159297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12321,11166,4,11315,11256],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-159283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-election-updates-2","8":"category-elections","9":"category-government","10":"category-india","11":"category-politician"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159283"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159285,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159283\/revisions\/159285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Important Contested Voters and\u2002Candidates<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Voter Demographics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Elections: Preparation, Model\u2002Code of Conduct<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Strategies and Issues\u2002in Campaigning<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Security and Election Integrity<\/strong><\/h2>\n