AAP's landslide in Delhi
What happened
The Aam Aadmi Party won a landslide victory in Delhi, all but wiping out its two nearest rivals.
It won 67 of the 70 seats on offer.
That left it 31 seats clear of a majority.
The AAP took 95.7% of the seats on 54.3% of the vote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party fell to 3 seats on 32.2% of the vote.
The campaign
Narendra Modi opened the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi campaign on 10 January 2015 at an 'Abhinandan Rally' at Ramlila Maidan, alongside Amit Shah, and pledged round-the-clock electricity supply for the city.1
On 12 January, the Election Commission announced that Delhi would vote in a single phase on 7 February, with counting on 10 February, under President's rule after the Aam Aadmi Party's earlier resignation from government.2
On 15 January, former police officer Kiran Bedi joined the party, in the presence of Amit Shah and Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Harsh Vardhan, to contest the election.3
On 19 January, the BJP named Bedi its chief ministerial candidate, a decision Shah called unanimous, setting up a direct contest with Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal.4
- 1Modi Opens BJP's Delhi Campaign at Ramlila Maidan, Pledges 24/7 Power — Modi to address four rallies in poll-bound Delhi, 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election
- 2Election Commission Announces Single-Phase Delhi Poll for 7 February — Delhi to vote on February 7, 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election
- 3Kiran Bedi Joins BJP Ahead of Delhi Polls — Kiran Bedi joins BJP to contest Delhi polls
- 4BJP Names Kiran Bedi Its Chief Ministerial Candidate for Delhi — Kiran Bedi is BJP's CM face, 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election
What changed
BJP collapsed, and the seat count swung almost entirely toward the AAP.
The single biggest movement ran from BJP to AAP, covering 30 of the 42 seats that changed hands.
AAP itself grew from 28 seats to 67 seats this time, the most any party has won in Delhi's modern assembly.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +1.4 pp from the previous election.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Najafgarh, Delhi, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 1,555 votes.
Sultanpur Majra, Delhi recorded the widest margin of the election, at 55.8% of the vote.
Gokalpur, Delhi recorded the highest turnout of any seat, at 74.2%.
Matiala, Delhi was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 3,47,396 names on the rolls.
Burari, Delhi drew the most crowded ballot, with 18 candidates standing.
NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 35,897 votes statewide, 0.4% of the total.
The backdrop
Delhi's Legislative Assembly was restored only in 1991, under the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act and the Constitution's 69th Amendment, after a 37-year gap. The first election to the restored Assembly was held in 1993.5
The Aam Aadmi Party itself was founded in 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and other activists from the anti-corruption movement. It first contested the next year's Delhi election, when it won 28 of the assembly's 70 seats and formed a short-lived minority government with Kejriwal as Chief Minister.6
- 5Legislative Assembly Restored via the NCT of Delhi Act — 1st Delhi Assembly
- 6Aam Aadmi Party Founded, Debuts in Delhi — Aam Aadmi Party