BJP To Contest Delhi Polls On AAP's Turf; To Continue Free Power, Water Schemes If Voted To Power

Delhi Polls: Out of power in Delhi for the last 25 years, the BJP has now decided to take on the AAP on the turf set by Arvind Kejriwal.

Delhi Election 2025: In the past two assembly elections of Delhi, the BJP and Aam Aadmi Party were locked in a direct contest while the Congress slipped to the third spot. The AAP easily pushed the BJP into corners riding on its free electricity and water schemes. In the previous election, the BJP was not vocal about free water and electricity schemes. The BJP suffered another electoral defeat in the 2020 assembly elections in Delhi winning just eight of the 70 assembly seats.

Out of power in Delhi for the last 25 years, the BJP has now decided to take on the AAP on the turf set by Arvind Kejriwal. Chairman of the BJP's manifesto committee Ramvir Singh Bidhuri has said that the party will continue the free electricity and water supply schemes and bus rides for women instituted by the current AAP dispensation if it assumes power in Delhi.

The BJP has set the process of collecting feedback from Delhi voters in motion to prepare its manifesto. Bidhuri said AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and other party leaders were trying to 'mislead' the public, spreading 'false propaganda' that the BJP would stop the free schemes if it formed the government in Delhi.

Bidhuri said that besides the ongoing schemes, the BJP will also implement the Ayushman Bharat health scheme in the first Cabinet meeting if voted to power. Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly are due in February. 

On November 21, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released its first list of 11 candidates for the Assembly Elections in Delhi. The elections in Delhi are expected to be held in early 2025. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has yet to announce the official dates. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party won 62 out of the 70 seats in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.