With polling scheduled for February 5, Delhi is poised for a fiercely contested three-way battle

As the Election Commission officially announced the schedule for Delhi’s upcoming assembly elections, the stage is set for what promises to be a hard-fought, three-cornered contest. Polling for the 70 assembly seats in Delhi will take place on February 5, with the results to be declared on February 8. This election is poised to be a high-stakes battle between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, each bringing its own strategies, narratives and issues to the forefront. Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP is looking to secure a third consecutive term in Delhi. The party, which has enjoyed overwhelming success in the last two elections, is fiercely campaigning for a ‘hat-trick.’ Kejriwal, whose party has transformed the political landscape of Delhi since its formation in 2012, is betting on his track record of governance and what he calls the ‘politics of work.’ AAP’s focus remains on welfare programmes such as free electricity, water and healthcare, while the party claims its tenure has been marked by development and transparency. With the slogan “Phir layenge Kejriwal,” AAP has launched a campaign centred around a positive vision for the future, contrasting its achievements with the BJP’s focus on divisive politics.  However, AAP’s victory is far from assured. Despite its dominance in the previous two elections, the party now faces mounting challenges. AAP  has been dogged by corruption allegations, a point of attack that the BJP has effectively capitalised on.

For the BJP, this election is a do-or-die contest. The party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has mounted an aggressive campaign aimed at ousting Kejriwal and the AAP from power. The BJP’s central theme revolves around anti-incumbency, accusing AAP of corruption and failing to address the capital’s development needs. Prime Minister Modi, at the forefront of the BJP’s attack, has called the AAP government an ‘AAP-da’ (disaster) and criticised its inability to offer a vision for Delhi’s growth. Modi’s rhetoric positions the BJP as the party of national progress, while framing Kejriwal’s leadership as an obstacle to Delhi’s future. The BJP’s strategy is two-fold: discredit the AAP’s governance while appealing to voters’ desire for change. The Congress, once the dominant force in Delhi, is now a distant third. After losing power in the capital in 2013, the party has been trying to rebuild its political base, which has been severely eroded by both AAP and BJP. However, this time the party is determined to make its presence felt  in the elections. Given the deepening polarisation, high stakes and aggressive strategies on all sides, the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections are shaping up to be a politically charged, hard-fought, and closely contested battle. Voters will have to choose between a legacy of governance under AAP, a vision for change from the BJP, and the prospect of stability from the Congress, making this election one of the most bitterly fought yet interesting to the core.