A deserted AAP office in Delhi as election results show BJP maintaining a comfortable lead on Februyar 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Nikhil M. Babu
With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) poised to lose the Delhi Assembly elections after winning there thrice consecutively, and the BJP set to comfortably win, some INDIA bloc leaders lamented that the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party should have fought the polls together against the BJP.
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According to data from the Election Commission of India at 12.55 p.m., the BJP and the AAP both won in one seat while the BJP was leading in 46 and the AAP in 22.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday (February 8, 2025) weighed in on the Delhi Election trends, saying that the early results show a sharp competition between the BJP and the opposition parties.
Mr. Raut said that if the Congress and AAP had allied, the outcome might have been very different. He emphasised that both the Congress and AAP have the same political opponent — the BJP -— but unfortunately they chose to fight individually rather than join forces.
“The early trends show a sharp competition. Had Congress and AAP been together, the results may have been different… The political opponent of AAP and Congress is BJP. Both of them fought to keep BJP from coming to power, but they fought individually. If they had been together then BJP’s defeat must have been confirmed in the first hour (of counting),” said Mr. Raut.
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He also made serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the ruling BJP-led NDA government in the Centre. Mr. Raut claimed that the EC has been turning a blind eye to serious concerns, including voter list fraud and a new “Maharashtra pattern” that’s been implemented in Delhi.
Speaking to media, Mr. Raut said, “We held a press conference to discuss the attitude of the Election Commission and the government regarding the elections. How fraud is happening in the voter list and how this new Maharashtra pattern has been created. I also said that the Maharashtra pattern has been implemented in Delhi as well.”
Mr. Raut suggested that the EC has ignored serious concerns. “The Election Commission was sitting with its eyes closed. The 39 lakh votes that have increased in Maharashtra in five months will now shift to Bihar, some will go to Delhi,” he added.
The Shiv Sena leader then went on to suggest a larger conspiracy to influence the Delhi elections. “The Prime Minister was in Delhi for 10 years but could not win Delhi. His last wish may be that he should win Delhi while I am in politics. So, efforts are being made to win Delhi by going to any extent,” he claimed.
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Mr. Raut also accused the BJP of using forced tactics to sway votes. “You think people are voting for BJP, nobody wants to vote for BJP, this is forced voting,” he said, calling into question the legitimacy of Assembly elections in Delhi.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also made similar remarks on the AAP and the Congress fighting together.
Mr. Abdullah, a senior leader of the National Conference, which is also part of the INDIA bloc, in a post on X, remarked, “fight among yourselves”.
The AAP and the Congress decided to contest the Assembly polls separately despite contesting the 2024 general elections together. The AAP contested from four seats and the Congress from three, however, the BJP won all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi. Immediately after the Lok Sabha election results, the AAP declared that it will contest the Delhi Assembly polls alone and the alliance with Congress was only for the general elections.
(With ANI inputs)
Published – February 08, 2025 01:46 pm IST