February 8, 2025: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections and extended his congratulations to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their victory.

"We accept the mandate of the people with great humility. I congratulate the BJP for this victory and hope they will fulfill all the promises for which people have voted for them," Kejriwal said in a video message.

Despite the loss, Kejriwal assured that AAP will remain a strong and constructive opposition, continuing its work for the people of Delhi. "We have done a lot of work in the field of health, education, and infrastructure in the last 10 years. We will not only play the role of a constructive opposition but will also remain among the people and continue to serve them," he added.

The BJP has secured 12 seats and is leading in 38, while AAP has won 10 seats and is leading in another 10. Meanwhile, the Congress party appears to have failed to open its account yet again in the capital.

A major setback for Kejriwal came from the New Delhi constituency, where he was defeated by BJP’s Parvesh Verma. Verma secured 30,088 votes, while Kejriwal managed 25,999 votes, losing by a margin of 4,089 votes. Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit finished a distant third with 4,568 votes.

This election marks a dramatic shift in Delhi’s political landscape. AAP, which first formed a short-lived government in 2013 with Congress support, came to power with a massive mandate in 2015, winning 67 out of 70 seats, and repeated its dominance in 2020 with 62 seats. However, the party has struggled in Lok Sabha elections, having never won a parliamentary seat in Delhi.

With the BJP set to take over governance in the capital, all eyes will be on its leadership to see how it delivers on the promises made to the electorate.