BJP Said AAP Brought In People From Punjab To Influence Elections, But Which Way Did Punjabi Votes Go?

After a fierce election campaign, which also involved allegations of "importing Punjabis" and "insult to Punjabis", the poll results showed, whom the Punjabi clusters in Delhi favoured.

The AAP failed to who voters in 17 of the 20 Punjabi-dominated constituencies of Delhi.

Source : PTI

The Delhi election was a battle bitterly fought between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party. The BJP eventually triumphed the AAP 48-22. The elections were fought over a host of issues. Among them was one that involved the alleged "import" of Punjabis to influence Delhi elections.

The BJP accused the AAP of bringing in people and vehicles from the Bhagwant Mann-administered Punjab. Pravesh Verma, who fought Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency (and won), had said thousands of vehicles with Punjab number plates are plying Delhi roads. "No one knows what are they doing here ahead of the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. What could they do that could pose a threat to our safety and security? These vehicles need to be checked," he said.

दिल्ली देश की राजधानी है। यहाँ हर राज्य से लोग आते हैं। यहाँ हर प्रदेश के नंबर की गाड़ियां चलती हैं। किसी भी राज्य के नंबर की गाड़ियां देश के किसी भी हिस्से में जा सकती हैं, इस पर कोई रोक टोक नहीं है।

बीजेपी का ये बयान सुनिए। ये बेहद खतरनाक, चिंताजनक और पंजाबियों के लिए… pic.twitter.com/LOdETjaPOs

— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) January 21, 2025

His comment became an election issue, with the AAP calling it "an insult to Punjabis". Kejriwal said: "Millions of Punjabis live in Delhi whose families and their ancestors have made countless sacrifices for the country. Millions of Punjabi refugees also live in Delhi who had left everything and settled in Delhi during the difficult period of partition... What the BJP leaders are saying today is insulting their martyrdom and sacrifice... Delhi has been developed by Punjabis. By calling Punjabis a threat to the country, the BJP has insulted lakhs of Punjabis living in Delhi."

Verma quickly clarified that he meant only the Punjab CM, ministers, their MLAs and their party workers. "They are roaming in their private cars that have 'Government of Punjab' stickers pasted on them... They are distributing alcohol, CCTV cameras, and money here," he said.

However, after the polls, a different picture emerged.

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How Did Punjabis In Delhi Vote In 2025?

There are at least 20 Punjabi-dominated constituencies across the national capital, besides seats that have a considerable Punjabi population.  

The BJP won three out of four seats where they were more than 10 per cent Sikh voters, as reported by PTI. Among the 28 seats with more than 10 per cent Punjabi voters — Janakpuri, Rajauri, and Hari Nagar for example — as many as 23 went the BJP way.

Punjabis are spread across Delhi, but West Delhi remains a stronghold, with Punjabis, including Sikhs, making up an estimated 55-60% of the population in certain areas, as per a report in The Indian Express. Twelve of the 20-odd Punjabi-dominated constituencies are in West Delhi, while South and East Delhi have four each.  

West Delhi’s Punjabi-dominated constituencies include Janakpuri, Madipur, Hari Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Tri Nagar, Karol Bagh, Rajinder Nagar, Patel Nagar, Moti Nagar, Vikaspuri, and Shalimar Bagh. In East Delhi, the key seats are Gandhi Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Shahdara, and Vishwas Nagar, while in South Delhi, the constituencies of Jangpura, Kasturba Nagar, Malviya Nagar, and Greater Kailash have a notable Punjabi electorate. 

Most of these areas had backed AAP in the 2015 and 2020 Assembly elections, with the BJP managing to win only two of these seats — Gandhi Nagar and Vishwas Nagar. Both of them have a substantial Punjabi and Sikh population.  

However, this time these voters have backed the BJP. In the recently concluded polls, the BJP won all but three of these seats with a comfortable margin of over 10,000 votes. The only exception was Hari Nagar, where the victory margin fell below 10,000 but remained above 5,000.

The BJP lost only three of the Punjabi-dominated constituencies — Tilak Nagar, Karol Bagh, and Patel Nagar — all located in West Delhi.

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How Did BJP Wrest Punjabi Voters From AAP?  

To court Punjabi voters, the BJP had assigned key leaders to the task, including Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, who comes from a Punjabi refugee family, and East Delhi MP Harsh Malhotra, who is also Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, and MoS, Corporate Affairs.

Additionally, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, a prominent Sikh face in the Cabinet, played a role in outreach efforts. Another key factor in the BJP’s appeal to the middle class was the Union Budget announcement exempting individuals earning up to Rs 12 lakh annually from income tax under the new tax regime.  

BJP leaders highlighted promises made in their election manifesto, which resonated with Punjabi voters, particularly the business community. The party pledged to unseal shops within six months, convert all leasehold properties under the Land and Development Office (L&DO) into freehold, establish a dedicated Delhi Trader Welfare Board, extend business licence validity from three to five years, and introduce a Delhi Retail Trade Policy to simplify regulations.  

Another major promise was the reduction of electricity tariffs for commercial establishments. The BJP also committed to providing a Rs 20,000 monthly allowance for gurdwara granthis and increasing the monthly pension for 1984 riot widows from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.

"Punjabis have historically leaned towards the BJP, as many come from financially stable backgrounds. A significant number comprises traders, particularly Punjabi Khatris, who have always supported the party," a senior BJP leader told The Indian Express. "Even non-trader Punjabis generally come from well-off families, making them more inclined to align with BJP’s policies."

Asked why the BJP gained the Punjabi vote this time, another party leader pointed to two main factors: "frustration with AAP's policies that benefited a selective section" and "no Punjabi or Sikh ministers in the Delhi Cabinet".