Atishi, Gopal Rai, Imran Hussain – AAP MLAs Who Defied Anti-Incumbency Wave To Win Their Seats
Delhi Election Results 2025: Despite the anti-incumbency wave, some AAP MLAs won their seats, including Atishi, Gopal Rai, Mukesh Ahlawat, and Imran Hussain.
Delhi Election Results 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dealt a major blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly elections, reducing its tally from 62 seats in 2020 to just 22 this time. Meanwhile, the BJP surged from 8 seats to 48, signalling a significant comeback in the national capital.
Despite AAP’s heavy defeat, four of its MLAs secured their seats for a fourth consecutive term, overcoming the anti-incumbency wave that led to several senior leaders losing their seats, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
As the BJP swept Delhi, Chief Minister Atishi and three outgoing ministers—Gopal Rai, Mukesh Ahlawat, and Imran Hussain—were among the few victorious AAP candidates. Atishi won the Kalkaji seat, defeating BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri by 3,521 votes. A key AAP strategist, her victory was among the party’s rare successes.
In Babarpur, Gopal Rai retained his seat with an 18,994-vote margin over BJP’s Anil Kumar Vashisht. The three-time MLA, who also served as Environment Minister, managed to hold on despite AAP’s rout. Mukesh Ahlawat won from Sultanpur Majra, defeating BJP’s Karam Singh Karma by 17,126 votes, maintaining AAP’s hold on one of the few reserved constituencies where it performed well. Imran Hussain, the Food and Civil Supplies Minister, won Ballimaran with AAP’s highest margin, defeating BJP’s Kamal Bagri by 29,823 votes. His victory was one of the few bright spots for AAP in Old Delhi.
Additionally, four other AAP leaders secured victories for a third consecutive term. Jarnail Singh won from Tilak Nagar by over 11,600 votes, though his margin dropped sharply from the 28,029-vote lead he had in 2020. In Burari, Sanjeev Jha retained his seat with a margin of over 16,000 votes, a steep fall from his 88,000-vote lead last time. Vishesh Ravi emerged victorious in Karol Bagh with a margin of over 7,400 votes, down from 31,760 votes in 2020.
Som Dutt, contesting from Sadar Bazar, won by slightly over 6,300 votes, a drastic decline from the 25,600-vote margin he secured in the previous elections. Amanatullah Khan extended his winning streak in Okhla. Ajay Dutt triumphed in Ambedkar Nagar, retaining their seats despite AAP’s overall drubbing.
Delhi Election Results 2025: Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia's Stunning Loss
The elections marked a turning point in Delhi’s political landscape, with the BJP poised to return to power after 26 years. The party gained significantly in vote share, increasing by 7%, while AAP’s vote share fell by 10%, narrowing the gap between the two parties to just 2%.
Arvind Kejriwal suffered a stunning loss in the New Delhi constituency, defeated by BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4,089 votes. Manish Sisodia lost in Jangpura to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by a razor-thin margin of 675 votes. Another AAP minister, Saurabh Bharadwaj, was defeated in Greater Kailash by BJP’s Shikha Roy by 3,188 votes.
With the BJP leading in 48 of the 70 Assembly seats, it is set to form the next government in Delhi. Meanwhile, the Congress, once the dominant force in the capital, is headed for its third consecutive electoral washout.
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