During the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, Delhi CM Atishi succeeded in holding Kalkaji’s seat for AAP by surpassing Ramesh Bidhuri of BJP by more than 3,500 votes. This victory stood as a rare highlight for AAP since the party endured widespread defeat throughout Delhi where prominent leaders Arvind Kejriwal as well as Manish Sisodia and Saurabh Bhardwaj all lost their electoral seats to the BJP. Since 2015 Congress has sustained a line of unsuccessful performances by being unable to claim any seats.
The 2020 winner Atishi faced an intense battle against BJP’s Bidhuri who held three terms as Tughlakabad MLA plus South Delhi constituency MP position. The political battle intensified when Alka Lamba representing Congress added her name to the contest for Kalkaji constituency. Atishi proved her political growth within AAP by successfully overcoming the strong opposition and challenging elections to maintain her seat in the Assembly.
AAP suffers widespread defeat across Delhi
Ms Atishi after her victory in Kalkaji said, “I thank the people of Kalkaji and party workers who braved BJP’s hooliganism. We will continue our struggle for the people of Delhi and the country. This is a setback for AAP but we accept the people’s mandate. We will continue our fight against BJP’s dictatorship and hooliganism.”
Kalkaji Seat Holds Historical Significance with Shifting Political Loyalties
Delhi politics considers Kalkaji to be an essential parliamentary seat because different parties have taken control of it throughout multiple decades. Purnima Sethi won the constituency in 1993 as a member of the BJP and since then Kalkaji has witnessed changing political loyalties. AAP entered political prominence at Kalkaji after Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) previously occupied the seat. The 2020 election win secured by Atishi has guaranteed AAP’s continued dominance over the Kalkaji constituency in Delhi.
The BJP secured control over almost 47 out of the 70 parliamentary seats within the capital district. AAP suffered a major blow as the party faced both the loss of senior leadership alongside a significant reduction in its political power. AAP leaders Kejriwal and Sisodia faced defeat while Atishi survives to build AAP’s future after this political loss.
