Synopsis
The 2025 Delhi Assembly elections featured intense rivalries among AAP, BJP, and Congress, highlighted by numerous party-switching candidates. Over 40 individuals changed parties, impacting their electoral fortunes. The results showed varying success for these turncoats, with some achieving significant victories while others struggled.Key Takeaways
- Over 40 candidates switched parties in the Delhi elections.
- Manjinder Singh Sirsa won Rajouri Garden after switching to BJP.
- Arvinder Singh Lovely secured Gandhi Nagar for BJP after leaving Congress.
- Kailash Gahlot switched from AAP to BJP, leading in his constituency.
- Mixed fortunes for turncoats, with some winning and others trailing.
New Delhi, Feb 8 (NationPress) The 2025 Delhi Assembly elections were characterized by not only intense campaigns and multi-party contests among the AAP, BJP, and Congress but also by fierce verbal exchanges and attacks. A significant aspect of the 2025 Assembly elections was the migration of leaders between political parties.
In the Delhi elections, over 40 candidates reportedly changed their political allegiance, seeking election tickets from their new parties to contest the elections.
The phenomenon of party-switching captured the attention of political analysts and observers as these candidates secured tickets and aimed to win their seats in the Assembly.
Here’s a look at the outcomes for the turncoats in the Delhi elections:
In Rajouri Garden, BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa achieved a decisive victory over AAP’s Dhanwati Chandela by more than 18,000 votes. Sirsa switched from the Akali Dal to BJP in 2021, having previously won the Rajouri Garden seat in 2013 and 2017 on an Akali Dal ticket.
In Gandhi Nagar, BJP’s Arvinder Singh Lovely won the Gandhi Nagar Assembly seat by over 12,000 votes, defeating his closest AAP competitor, Naveen Chaudhary. Lovely, a former Congress Delhi chief, transitioned to the BJP prior to the elections.
Tarwinder Singh Marwah, a three-term Congress MLA who joined the BJP, emerged as a major contender, defeating former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by a narrow margin.
Kailash Gahlot, a former minister in the Kejriwal government, was a prominent figure who left AAP to join the BJP before the elections. Contesting on a BJP ticket, he led his closest AAP rival by about 9,000 votes according to the latest trends.
In addition to Gahlot, former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand ran on a BJP ticket from Patel Nagar but was trailing behind the AAP candidate by over 4,000 votes.
Chhatarpur in South Delhi saw a contest between turncoats, where BJP’s three-time MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar ran on an AAP ticket while sitting AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar switched to the BJP. The latter secured victory by a margin exceeding 6,000 votes.
Jitender Singh Shunty, a BJP MLA known for his social service during the COVID pandemic, crossed over to AAP last year and contested as its candidate. However, he was behind the BJP candidate by approximately 5,000 votes.
