Delhi polls: Winners’ average vote share dips to 51 pc from 55 pc in 2020, says ADR

Delhi polls: The average vote share of the winners in the recent Delhi assembly elections was 51 per cent, a dip from the 2020 figure of 55 per cent, according to poll rights body ADR.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Delhi Election Watch have released a comprehensive analysis of the 2025 Delhi polls, showing key insights into voter turnout, vote share, and the margin of victory for winning candidates.

The results, declared on February 8, show a slight decline in voter turnout compared to the 2020 elections, with 61 per cent of voters casting their ballots, down from 63 per cent in the previous assembly polls.

The analysis highlights a trend of narrower victory margins and a decline in the average vote share of winners.

In 2025, winners secured an average of 51 per cent of the total votes polled in their constituencies, down from 55 per cent in 2020.

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Moreover, 27 (39 per cent) of the winners secured less than 50 per cent of the votes in their constituencies.

Out of the 70 winners, 31 (44 per cent) have declared criminal cases against them, with 21 of these candidates winning with a vote share of 50 per cent or more.

Notably, 18 winners with criminal cases defeated runners-up with clean backgrounds. Among them, Aaley Mohammed Iqbal (AAP) from Matia Mahal constituency won with a staggering 50.58 per cent margin of victory, the highest in this category.

On the other hand, 61 (87 per cent) of the winners are crorepatis (millionaires), with 41 of them securing more than 50 per cent of the votes. In contrast, only 2 out of 9 non-crorepati winners achieved a vote share of 50 per cent or above.

The representation of women in the Delhi assembly remains low, with only 5 women among the 70 winners.

However, all of them performed strongly, securing more than 40 per cent of the votes in their constituencies. Rekha Gupta (BJP) from Shalimar Bagh emerged as the top-performing woman candidate, winning 60 per cent of the votes in her constituency.

Among the 22 re-elected winners, none secured less than 40 per cent of the vote share, with 11 (50 per cent) winning more than 50 per cent of the votes. However, 12 re-elected winners faced tight contests, winning with a margin of less than 10 per cent, the report said.

Out of 94,88,376 votes polled in the 2025 Delhi assembly elections, 53,738 (0.57 per cent) were polled for NOTA. The NOTA button instated by the EC in 2013 gave the voters an option of rejecting all the candidates in their constituency.

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