Delhi Assembly election 2025: How Purvanchali votes became dominant factor in AAP’s defeat

With the Delhi Assembly elections ending in a massive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Purvanchali-dominant 14 constituencies emerged as the key seats for the saffron party.

Almost the entirety of the elections was focused on separating the said vote bank from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) successfully whisked it away from them.

According to multiple surveys conducted by parties, the buck stopped at 14 constituencies in the national capital with a majority population of Purvanchalis. These constituencies include Dwarka, Laxmi Nagar, Karawal Nagar, Malviya Nagar, Patparganj, Rajinder Nagar, Rohtas Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Shalimar Bagh, Vikaspuri, Babarpur, Burari, Kirari, and Model Town.

Out of these constituencies, the BJP won 11 of the seats. Effectively, the saffron party has left the AAP to snack on crumbs as it could only secure three of the Purvanachali dominated constiuencies.

A shift from AAP to BJP: PM thanks Purvanchali voters

Highlighting the role of the Purvanchali community in the party’s victory in the national capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Purvanchali voters on Saturday, greeting them with “Yamuna Maiya Ki Jai.”

The PM addressed an enthusiastic gathering of top ledears and supporters at the BJP headquarters: “Wherever I went in this election, I used to say with pride that I am an MP from Purvanchal. The people of Purvanchal gave love, trust, new energy, and new strength. Therefore, as an MP from Purvanchal, I especially thank the people of Purvanchal.”

Earlier in the 2020 elections, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had been able to emerge victorious in 11 seats, including Babarpur, Burari, Kirari, and Vikaspuri, which it has been able to secure this time around as well. On the other hand, the BJP was able to win only three constituencies in 2020, including Laxmi Nagar, Karawal Nagar, and Rohtas Nagar.

Essentially, migrants from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are referred to as Purvanchalis, and they account for over two-thirds of the voters in Delhi. Up until this election, the said voter base has been, rather characteristically, backing AAP for the past two elections, including 2020 and 2015. However, growing disillusionment and a wave of anti-incumbency led to the party losing out on its Purvanchali vote bank.

Yamuna clean-up failure and AAP’s Disconnect

In an effort to fill the gap between the voter base and the party itself, the saffron party fielded four Purvanchalis, even as it left a seat each to two of the party’s allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)—Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas).

The AAP fielded 12 Purvanchalis and Congress four. Coupled with the four fighting on BJP tickets, most of the constituencies found respite in being represented by MP Manoj Tiwari at Lok Sabha, a Purvanchali himself.

Moreover, the effect of the AAP’s inability to clean up Yamuna and its failure to find any resolution, even after the party promised to clean it up during the past decade, was significant.

Also Read: Delhi Assembly Election 2025: BJP sweeps Delhi; celebrations erupt as party secures historic victory

Through the 2015 and 2020 elections, Kejriwal had promised to clean up the sacred river, with thousands of crores being poured into the clean-up project with nothing to show for it. A frothy Chhath Puja had become a mainstay.

Despite the disastrous failure of the Yamuna clean-up project, the sacred river failed to find a mention in the party’s manifesto. Thus, despite the AAP accepting its inability to fix the Yamuna situation, a slew of additional promises followed, which essentially caused much disdain among the Purvanchali community.

BJP’s strategic outreach and electoral gains

However, the BJP, on the other hand, had focused on the factor played by the community from the very beginning. Since October, the Purvanchali Morcha of the BJP had started Yamuna cleaning projects.

During Chhath Puja, Santosh Ojha, the Purvanchali Morcha chief, had said, “The issue of cleaning the Yamuna has been raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party for many years, and the Purvanchal Morcha of the BJP has consistently demanded that Chhath Puja be celebrated at the Yamuna ghats. However, the Delhi government has imposed a ban for many years. The central government is even providing funds for the cleaning of the Yamuna, but they are still not taking any action.”

The BJP made several promises to the Purvanchali community, including cleaning up the Yamuna, organising a grand Chhath festival, developing the riverfront like Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati, and providing housing for migrants under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Meanwhile, AAP relied on its freebie schemes, while the Congress pledged to establish a dedicated Purvanchal Ministry with a special budget allocation.

Also Read: Delhi Assembly Election 2025: AAP faces electoral rout as BJP takes control of the Capital

During the Assembly election, the BJP conducted an aggressive campaign in Purvanchali areas with the support of Bhojpuri film stars like Ravi Kishan, Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, and Manoj Tiwari, alongside senior leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Additionally, the BJP allocated one seat each to its Bihar-based NDA allies, the Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), though their candidates were unsuccessful. To put matters into perspective, both the LJP (RV) and the JD (U) candidates lost out to the AAP.

Similarly, the AAP had also announced holidays for the festival for the first time this year, playing to the sensibilities of the Purvanchali community. However, the promise of cleaning up the Yamuna River in the BJP manifesto helped the Purvanchalis have a clearer idea of the party to vote fo