Delhi poll results: Did turncoats prosper or suffer after switching sides, check here
New Delhi: The 2025 Delhi Assembly elections were marked by not just high-voltage campaigns and tri-cornered contests between political parties including the AAP, BJP and Congress but also saw them launching diatribes and vitriolic attacks on each other. Another notable point that became a highlight of the 2025 Assembly elections was the crossing-over of leaders, from one party to another.
In the Delhi elections alone, more than 40 candidates reportedly switched sides in the hopes of getting poll tickets and also went on to contest the elections on their new party’s tickets.
The party hoppers also caught the interest of election analysts and observers as they bagged tickets and went to contest polls, hoping to secure their seat in the upcoming Assembly session.
Here is how the turncoats fared in Delhi elections:
In Rajouri Garden, BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa managed an easy victory over rival Dhanwati Chandela from the AAP by over 18,000 votes. He had switched loyalties from the Akali Dal to the BJP in 2021. Earlier, he had won the Rajouri Garden seat in 2013 and 2017 on an Akali Dal ticket.
In Gandhi Nagar, BJP’s Arvinder Singh Lovely won the Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituency by a margin of over 12,000 votes and defeated his closest AAP rival Naveen Chaudhary. Having served as Congress Delhi chief, he switched over to BJP before the elections.
Tarwinder Singh Marwah was three-term Congress MLA who switched to BJP and also emerged as a giant killer. He defeated former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by a close margin.
Kailash Gahlot, erstwhile minister in the Kejriwal government was the most notable face from the ruling party to jump ship and join the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections. The former AAP leader contested on a BJP ticket and was ahead of his closest AAP rival by about 9,000 votes, as per latest trends.
Apart from Gahlot, former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand contested on a BJP ticket from Patel Nagar and was seen trailing against the AAP nominee by over 4,000 votes.
South Delhi’s Chhatarpur witnessed a battle between the turncoats as the two party-hoppers locked horns in the constituency. Three-time BJP MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar contested on an AAP ticket, while sitting AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar had moved to the BJP. The latter won the elections by a margin of over 6,000 votes.
Jitender Singh Shunty was a BJP MLA and also gained prominence for social service during the Covid pandemic. Last year he crossed over to the AAP and contested as its candidate. However, he was found to be behind the BJP candidate by about 5,000 votes.