BJP wins Delhi polls, Tax bonanza for middle class in Union Budget, RBI cuts repo rate, and more: The week in 5 charts

Here are five graphics that will help you understand some of the key stories from last week

The BJP on Saturday (February 8, 2025) returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign.

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Adding to the ignominy of the AAP that was battling 10 years of anti-incumbency was the shocking defeat of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal himself and other top leaders including his close aide and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti and Saurabh Bhardwaj. Chief Minister Atishi, an academic and unlikely politician, weathered the storm to retain Kalkaji seat.

The BJP won 48 of the 70 seats at stake and the AAP was way behind with 22, according to the Election Commission. The elections were largely seen as a bipolar contest between the AAP, which made a determined bid for a fourth term, and the BJP. While the AAP had 62 members in the outgoing house, the saffron party had just eight legislators.

The Congress, which had ruled for 15 consecutive years under Sheila Dikshit from 1998, came a cropper in the Assembly elections failing to get even a single seat for the third straight time. Its candidates suffered crushing defeats with a majority of them even losing their deposits.

The BJP’s vote share in Delhi has grown by nearly 13% points in the last 10 years while the AAP’s vote share has declined by nearly 10% points during the same period. There was a difference of only two per cent between the vote shares of the BJP and AAP. The Congress secured a vote share of 6.34%.

The AAP came to power in Delhi for the first time in 2013 on the back of the promise to sweep away corruption. But its minority government propped up by Congress lasted only 49 days after Kejriwal resigned following which Delhi came under a spell of President’s rule.