Political Structure of Delhi
The official name of Delhi was changed to National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) in 1991, after the 69th Constitution Amendment Act, 1991. As we know, it’s a union territory (UT) which has a Legislative Assembly. It has a unique political and administrative structure due to performing a double role in a state as well as the national capital. That is why it is crucial to look at some key points in order to understand its political structure.
Legislative Assembly: As we all know, Delhi has 70 seats of legislative assembly with unicameral structure. The assembly is responsible for passing laws on several matters such as transportation, local issues, environment concerns etc. It also excludes some areas where the central government enjoys their jurisdiction like defense, foreign affairs, and communications.
Lieutenant Governor (LG): Delhi is a state where the LG has some major powers and without his consent the chief minister can not apply the policies. For that reason, you can see there is always a conflict between these two.
The president is responsible for the appointment of LG who represents the central government. Delhi Legislative Assembly has significant power, just like that the LG also has certain powers such as in areas regarding law and order, land, and public services.
Chief Minister: After the results are out, the “majority party” of the Legislative Assembly chooses the chief minister (who will be the head of the government). The Governor is the de jure head of Delhi but de facto authority rests with the chief minister. It holds important executive powers within the assembly's control.
Kejriwal was the 3 times chief minister in Delhi but he resigned from his post the day after the bail in the corruption case. Now Atishi Singh, leader of Aam Aadmi Party is the present CM of Delhi since 17 September 2024.
Political Parties: There are several political parties which play well in the Delhi’s election, some of them are given below: The major political parties in Delhi are -
| Party | No. of MLA | Vote Share Percentage % |
| Aam Aadmi Party | 62 | 48.23% |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 8 | 6.30% |
| Total | 70 | 54.53% |
As you can see the Aam Aadmi Party is the top player in the last few terms in Delhi's legislative assembly election result. Along with AAP the above mentioned parties also influence the results.
Electoral History of Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections
The legislative assembly elections of Delhi are held every five years. Lets see the brief overview of the trends and results from past elections:
2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections:-
For the two consecutive terms, the Indian National Congress (INC) was in power from 2003 to 2013 in Delhi. At that time congress chief minister was ‘Sheila Dixit’ who was also the longest-serving chief minister which held the office for over 15 years.
In late 2012, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came into existence and made a sensational debut by winning 28 seats in the 2013 assembly election. Whereas Congress party was concluded with 8 seats only, and BJP secured 31 seats.
This brought in a hung assembly, and the Aam Aadmi Party formed the government with the support of Congress. However, the government lasted only 49 days as Arvind Kejriwal resigned. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned from his post because he was prevented from tabling Jan Lokpal Bill in the assembly.
Kejriwal wanted this anti-corruption bill tabled without any delay and passed in the assembly but the opposition (Congress and BJP) said it must be approved by the Union first, on which Kejriwal disputed.
After the resignation, Kejriwal said that “For the sake of the country, I would give up the chief minister's post not a hundred times but a thousand times”. This bill seeks to curb corruption in higher authorities.
2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections:-
Under the leadership of ‘Arvind Kejriwal’ they made an outstanding comeback with winning 67 seats out of 70. Whereas BJP retained just 3 seats and Congress party failed to win a single seat.
This victory marked a conclusive shift in the political field of Delhi, with AAP strongly establishing itself and rising as the dominant player in Delhi's politics. This was the time when people appreciated the work of AAP and gave a huge majority.
2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections:
In the last election also AAP continued to remain in its dominant stage by winning 62 seats out of 70. On the other hand, BJP secured only 8 seats, while the INC failed to win in any seat. This election reinforced AAP's control over the capital, as the party gave more focus on the major issues like education, healthcare, transport and transportation.
Key Issues in the Upcoming 2025 Delhi Assembly Elections
As Delhi prepares for the upcoming elections, several issues are expected to shape the electoral discussion. There are some issues discussed below, which could be major topics for the debate in future:
Environment Concerns: The environment of Delhi is getting worse day by day. Delhi people live in the state where most cities are above the 300 AQI. People getting breathing problems which increase health issues.
For a few years, pollution has been the most important concern for Delhi and during election time the debate on this topic also goes up. Due to this, AAP’s focus on green policies and air pollution management system will play a crucial role on the public opinion.
Infrastructure and Traffic: Everyday new highways and roads are inaugurated in Delhi in spite of that traffic is not controlled. Many highways and roads are blocked, people facing problems while traveling. Metro connectivity, buses, trains and other public transport is better in Delhi but because of overcrowded population the jams and traffic are still there.
Delhi's rapid urbanization raises many issues like traffic congestion, pollution, and inadequate infrastructure still remain to be primary concerns in Delhi politics. The government has launched several initiatives like the construction of flyovers and the expansion of the metro network, but challenges are there.
Education and Healthcare: Under the AAP's flagship the education and health sector are performing that’s why it could be major talking points in the elections. The party's efforts in building new classrooms, enhancing government school standards, building the government hospital infrastructure and most important establishing Mohalla Clinics.
These Mohalla Clinics have been appreciated by the people and the supporters but the opposition said, it is a tool for electoral gains.
Law and Order: It is one of the major issues in Delhi, the responsibility to maintain Law and Order is lying with the Delhi Police, which comes under the central government. So, This created a debating point between the central and union territory (Delhi).
The AAP has pointed out that we cannot effectively restrict crime because we lack control over the police, while the BJP attacked the Aam Aadmi Party for failing to curb crime. That’s why CM proposed to make Delhi into a full-fledged state where all they control including Policies comes under the state government powers.
Outcome Prediction for Upcoming Delhi Assembly Elections
It is a challenging task to Predict any future outcome of the 2025 elections of Delhi but we can take an idea by certain trends. So let's see:
A huge victory for the Aam Aadmi Party in the assembly election of 2015 and 2020. They will try to save their castle in the upcoming election. It will be interesting to see what will happen but my prediction is that AAP would secure at least 60 seats in this election also.
Because the state government is performing well in some sectors which will increase the chances of a majority. They mainly focus on health, education, public transportation and infrastructure which will continue to remind the voters at the time of voting.
The BJP will continuously attack AAP's governance and will try to build a narrative around issues like national security, pollution and law and order. Like Haryana, BJP gives its full potential in the upcoming election to win the seats and pass the mark of majority. But it seems to be impossible in Delhi because Delhi's people are very tricky. They give votes to BJP in Lok In the Delhi Assembly Election they chose the Aam Aadmi Party.
Some people said that Delhi's people choose kejriwal because they do work without getting into religious or any other debate. But the opposition accused AAP of providing free resources (Muft ki Revri) from the government’s account.
In my perspective the Indian National Congress (INC) remains marginalized in Delhi, and its chances of regaining power are very less unless there is a significant shift in voter sentiment.
However, The party and Rahul Gandhi are trying hard and focusing on major issues in order to attract the voters. They hold rallies and now openly speak about any topic which is important to discuss. That is why, the image of Rahul Gandhi has been changed and now they have emerged as a big opposition leader.
They will try to recapture the support of its traditional voters and if they succeed in this then they can open the account in this upcoming election unlike last two elections.
