Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) historic victory in the Delhi Assembly elections as a triumph of truth over deception, declaring that the people had freed the capital from “AAP-da” (a play on AAP and disaster).

Addressing jubilant party workers at BJP headquarters, Modi said, “I see enthusiasm and comfort in Delhi — the enthusiasm of victory, and the comfort of being rid of deception. Those who had the arrogance of being Delhi’s owners have been confronted with the truth.”

BJP ended Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) decade-long rule with a resounding 48-seat win, while AAP was left with just 22 seats in its worst-ever defeat. Arvind Kejriwal himself lost to BJP’s Parvesh Verma.

The PM, who began his speech with “Yamuna Maiya ki Jai”, credited the victory to the people’s trust in BJP’s governance. “We will return your love hundredfold in the form of development,” he promised, adding that Delhi’s “double-engine government” would work at double the pace.

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BJP National President JP Nadda took a sharper tone, calling AAP a “factory of lies” that had “misled people in the name of education”. He said the election results were a clear rejection of corruption.

As celebrations erupted at BJP headquarters with supporters waving saffron flags and dancing to dhol beats, AAP’s office fell silent, reflecting the magnitude of its defeat.

With the BJP’s return to power after 27 years, PM Modi’s promise of fast-tracked development in Delhi now takes centre stage.

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