Delhi election results 2025: Who will BJP pick as the next Chief Minister?

BJP candidate from New Delhi assembly constituency Parvesh Verma celebrates outside a counting center after claiming victory in the Delhi Assembly polls amid the counting of votes, in New Delhi, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

After 26 years out of power in the national capital, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to retake Delhi as election result trends indicate a defeat for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday (February 8, 2025).

While votes are still being tallied, celebrations broke out in front of the saffron party’s Delhi office where the party leaders including Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra, and BJP national vice president Baijayant Panda gathered for an initial meeting.

Also read: Delhi election results 2025 LIVE: February 8, 2025

BJP, in keeping with its tradition of not declaring a CM face for Assembly elections, has maintained that a decision will be taken following the election results. Mr. Sachdeva had said that the decision will lie with the party’s central high-command, which includes PM Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Here are some possible BJP contenders for the CM seat in Delhi:

Parvesh Verma

Son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, Parvesh Verma defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency by over 4,000 votes. Mr. Verma’s candidacy and eventual victory from the New Delhi seat gains importance as the constituency has given the capital its Chief Minister for the past six Assembly elections (Sheila Dikshit in 1998, 2003, and 2008. Arvind Kejriwal in 2013, 2015, and 2020).

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Previously, Mr. Verma scored two consecutive wins in parliamentary elections from the West Delhi constituency in 2014 and 2019. He has served as a member of the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament and of the Standing Committee on Urban Development.

Vijender Gupta

The incumbent Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, has extended his victory over the Rohini Assembly seat to a third term, defeating AAP’s Pardeep Mittal by a margin of nearly 37,000 votes. Mr. Gupta, a BJP veteran, has been involved with the party since he was a Delhi University student. Rising through the party ranks, Mr. Gupta first tasted electoral success when he won the municipal elections from Rohini. He went on to challenge Mr. Kejriwal in 2013 from the New Delhi seat but came third behind Sheila Dikshit. Mr. Gupta was elected MLA in the subsequent 2015 Assembly elections from the Rohini seat. He repeated his victory in 2020.

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Kailash Gahlot

One of the turncoats being followed keenly in the 2025 Delhi elections, Kailash Gahlot is better known to Delhiites as a former Minister in the Delhi Cabinet before he quit the Aam Aadmi Party in November 2024. When he joined the BJP soon after, party leader Manohar Lal had called Mr. Gahlot a prominent Jat face, and had stated that his presence will “will surely benefit the party.” Mr. Gahlot defeated AAP’s Surender Bhardwaj with a margin of over 8,000 votes from the Bijwasan seat. He was first elected MLA from the Najafgarh constituency in 2015, and he retained the seat in the subsequent 2020 elections. During Mr. Kejriwal’s Chief Ministership, Mr. Gahlot helmed the Transport and Environment ministries.

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Arvinder Singh Lovely 

Former Congress State chief, Arvinder Singh Lovely, defected to the BJP in 2024, ecured victory from the Gandhi Nagar constituency against AAP’s Naveen Chaudhary with a margin of 12,748 votes. Mr. Lovely, has been a prominent face in Delhi politics, who began his journey as a student politician in the Delhi University. He went on to win the Assembly elections from Gandhi Nagar seat in 1998 and maintained a stronghold until 2013. Following his election, Mr. Lovely was also elevated to several Cabinet positions under the Chief Ministership of Sheila Dikshit. He quit the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election results complaining against the grand-old party’s alliance with the AAP, and selection of “outsiders” as candidates.

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Other possibilities

North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari could be a possible choice for Delhi Chief Minister. Though he has not contested in the Assembly elections, Mr. Tiwari’s profile could help the BJP reap benefits in the coming future. He was a star campaigner in the lead-up to the elections, having considerable influence and popularity among the Purvanchali vote base. Mr. Tiwari could also be helpful as the BJP sets it eyes on the Bihar Assembly elections later in the year.

Another possible contender is BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva who was most recently in news for getting hospitalised after he took a dip in the Yamuna to highlight the alleged failure of the Delhi government to clean the heavily polluted river ahead of Chhath Puja. Mr. Sachdeva is the first leader from the Punjabi community to helm the BJP’s city unit after O.P. Kohli in 2010.

(With inputs from Jaideep Deo Bhanj)