The Congress was decimated in the Delhi elections , failing to open its account in the 70-member assembly for a third consecutive time and its key candidates suffering crushing defeats.
Sandeep Dikshit finished third in New Delhi segment where Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parvesh Sahib Verma defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal by over 3000 votes.
According to PTI, While Verma polled 25057 votes and Kejriwal 22,057, Dikshit gathered just 3,873, in a shock culmination of the Sheila Dikshit legacy. Sheila Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi for three terms.
A majority of Congress candidates lost their deposits and only three of them managed to save them.
Most Congress candidates finished third after BJP or AAP, but in some even finished fourth after the AIMIM where they had put up its candidates in Muslim dominates segments.
Congress heavyweights were decimated — state unit chief Devender Yadav ended up third in Badli, Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba finished third in Kalkaji where Chief Minister Atishi won; former minister Haroon Yusuf was third in Ballimaran which he represented five times between 1993 to 2013.
Congress scripted the same story of losses everywhere with only one tiny consolation of a 2.1 per cent improvement in vote share over 2020.
The party polled 6.39 per cent of the valid votes as against 4.3 per cent in the 2020 assembly polls, massively denting its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partner AAP across segments.
AAP’s vote share loss was massive — down from 53.6 per cent in 2020 to 43.19 per cent — a drop of over 10 per cent.
The Congress managed to play a spoiler for the AAP which suffered heavily in Scheduled Caste and Muslim-dominated segments where Congress made minor gains at AAP’s cost and BJP’s advantage.
Congress General Secretary In charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh after the Congress poor showing yet again had this to say : “The 2025 Delhi Vidhan Sabha election results reflect nothing more than a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. After all, at the height of the PM’s popularity in 2015 and 2020, AAP had won decisively in Delhi. This shows that, rather than being vindication of the policies of the PM, this vote is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of deceit, deception, and vastly exaggerated claims of achievement.
“The Indian National Congress took the lead in highlighting the various scams that have occurred under Arvind Kejriwal and voters have pronounced their judgement on his twelve years of misrule. The Congress was expecting to do better. It has, however, increased its vote share. The campaign of the Congress was vigorous.
“It may not be in the Assembly but it is definitely a presence in Delhi, a presence that will be expanded electorally with the sustained efforts of lakhs of Congress workers. There will be a Congress Govt once again in Delhi in 2030.
The decimation of the Congress and its role of a spoiler are bound to impact the unity of an already-fragile INDIA bloc whose partners have been at variance over ideological issues and electoral alignments.
The friction between INDIA bloc partners may be visible in the assembly polls in Bihar.
The poor show of the Congress in Delhi, after Haryana and Maharashtra, will also lead to further diminishing of its dominant position in the Opposition bloc.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party will continue to raise the issues of pollution, Yamuna cleaning, electricity, roads, water and development in Delhi and will remain connected with the public.
‘In the Delhi Assembly elections, the Congress party created an atmosphere against the government in public interest, but the people did not give us the mandate we expected. We accept the decision of the people,’ Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
दिल्ली विधानसभा चुनाव में कांग्रेस पार्टी ने जनहित में सत्ता के ख़िलाफ़ माहौल बनाया पर जनता ने हमें उम्मीद के अनुरूप जनादेश नहीं दिया। हम जनमत को स्वीकारते हैं।
कांग्रेस के हर एक नेता और कार्यकर्ता ने एकजुट होकर, विपरीत परिस्थितियों में मेहनत की, पर अभी और कड़ी मेहनत और संघर्ष…
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) February 8, 2025
‘Every Congress leader and worker worked unitedly under adverse circumstances, but more hard work and struggle is still required,’ he said.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said he humbly accepts the mandate of Delhi as he thanked party workers and voters.
In a post on X, he said the fight for the progress of Delhi and against pollution, price rise and corruption will continue.
दिल्ली का जनादेश हम विनम्रता से स्वीकार करते हैं।
प्रदेश के सभी कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ताओं को उनके समर्पण और सभी मतदाताओं को उनके समर्थन के लिए दिल से धन्यवाद।
प्रदूषण, महंगाई और भ्रष्टाचार के विरुद्ध – दिल्ली की प्रगति और दिल्लीवासियों के अधिकारों की यह लड़ाई जारी रहेगी।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 8, 2025
‘We humbly accept the mandate of Delhi. Heartfelt thanks to all the Congress workers of the state for their dedication and all the voters for their support,’ he said in his post in Hindi.
‘This fight for the progress of Delhi and the rights of Delhiites, against pollution, price rise and corruption will continue,’ Gandhi said.
