Delhi Elections 2025: Split in Opposition Votes Costs AAP 11 Seats

Team Clarion

NEW DELHI — Amid the landslide victory of The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Delhi Assembly elections, it is believed that a split in opposition votes significantly impacted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The absence of an alliance between AAP and Congress resulted in BJP winning at least a dozen crucial seats that could have otherwise remained out of its reach.

AAP secured 22 seats with 43% of the vote share, while the BJP claimed 48 seats with 45% of the votes. Congress, despite winning 6% of the votes, failed to secure any seats. Had there been an alliance between AAP and Congress, their combined 49% vote share—4% higher than the BJP’s—could have potentially shifted the outcome of these key seats.

However, there was a possibility of opposition parties’ rule in the national capital if there was an alliance between the grand old party and the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP and Congress alliance could have increased the AAP’s tally to 33 seats, bringing it closer to the majority mark.

The split of opposition votes have cost heavyweight candidates including AAP’s national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, former deputy CM and education minister Manish Sisodia. 

Here are the key seats lost due to vote split

New Delhi constituency 

Arvind Kejriwal lost to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4,089 votes, while Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit (son of former CM Sheila Dikshit) secured 4,568 votes—more than the margin of Kejriwal’s defeat. AAP could have retained this high-profile seat with Congress’s support.

Jangpura

Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia lost to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by a narrow 675 votes. Congress’s Farhad Suri secured 7,350 votes, which could have easily turned the tide in favor of Sisodia

Greater Kailash

Greater Kailash in south Delhi was once considered a bastion for the AAP and there were chances that three-time MLA and minister Saurabh Bharadwaj would secure a comfortable victory. But Bhardwaj was defeated by BJP’s Shikha Roy by a margin of 3,188 votes. Here, Congress’s Garvit Singhvi secured 6,711 votes, more than the AAP’s defeat margin. 

Malviya Nagar

Similarly, in Malviya Nagar, where BJP’s Satish Upadhyay defeated three-time MLA Somnath Bharti by a margin of 2,131 votes, Congress’s Jitender Kumar Kochar got 6,770 votes, effectively ruining the game for the AAP candidate.

Badli

In Badli also, BJP’s Aahir Deepal Chaudharyy defeated AAP’s Ajesh Yadav by 15,163 votes. The Congress Devender Yadav won 41,071 votes. If there had been an alliance, AAP could have had a smooth sail.

Timarpur

BJP’s Surya Prakash Khatri won Timarpur by a slim margin of 1,168 votes, defeating the AA’s Surinder Pal Singh. The Congress Lokendra Kalyan Singh won 8,361 votes and this worked in BJP’s favor.

Nangloi Jat

The BJP’s Manoj Kumar Shokeen won the seat by a margin of 26,251 votes, defeating the AAP’s Raghuvinder Shokeen. The Congress’s Rohit Choudhary got 32,028 votes and ate into the Opposition votes that would have otherwise gone to AAP.

Rajinder Nagar

Senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak lost to the BJP’s Umang Bajaj by a margin of 1,231 votes. Vineet Yadav of the Congress, who got 4,105 votes, worked to the AAP’s disadvantage.

Chhatarpur

In south Delhi’s Chhatarpur, BJP’s Kartar Singh Tanwar defeated the AAP’s Brahm Singh Tanwar by a margin of 6,239 votes. The Congres’s Rajender Singh Tanwar got 6,601 votes, more than the margin of defeat. This worked to the BJP’s advantage.