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The BJP victory in the Delhi Assembly Election 2025 might have taken almost three decades to come, but its scale and reach have turned ideas about the party's acceptability among several caste and religious groups on its head. Delhi being an India in microcosm, the results also bring hope to many for the party's chances among these groups in their home states.
The BJP's acceptability among the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Castes have been questioned resolutely by the Congress, which backed it up with its demand for caste census. The BJP, in the past, has gone a long way to win back the OBCs, especially in Maharashtra and a few other states.
Delhi results show that of the BJP's 22 OBC candidates, 16 have won. The party has also won all seven seats that have more than 10 per cent OBC population.
Candidates from Haryana and Purvanchal also appeared to have wide acceptance. Of the 14 Haryanvi candidates, 12 won and of the six Purvanchali candidates, four won.
Of the 13 seats with more than 5 per cent Haryanvi voters, the BJP won 12. Moreover, of the 35 seats with more than 15 per cent Purvanchali voters, the BJP won 25 seats, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to thank the Purvanchali voters "as an MP from Purvanchal".
The party, which lost the last assembly election in Punjab, also won three of the four seats that have more than 10 per cent Sikh voters. Of the 28 seats with more than 10 per cent Punjabi voters, the BJP won 23.
Its strike rate on seats with a chunk of Valmiki and Jatav voters, however, left room for improvement. Of the nine seats with more than 10 per cent Valmiki voters, the BJP won four and of the 12 seats with more than 10 per cent Jatav voters, the party won six.
Of the 12 Scheduled Caste BJP candidates, four have won.
The BJP has also made huge inroads in the seats that border the two neighbouring states it rules -- Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Out of a total of 22 seats that share borders with the neighbouring states, BJP won 15 - seven of 13 seats that border UP and nine of 11 seats that border Haryana.
The election in Delhi, though, has been unmarked by rhetoric on caste. The national capital draws people from all states, castes and economic strata who come in search for a better future - a factor that can override their other identities.
The BJP's huge victory is thus seen as a sign of widespread acceptance and a reflection of Delhi's desire for better governance as much as its disenchantment with AAP.
In his victory speech to party workers today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the results in Delhi is a victory of "development, vision and trust (Vikas, Vision Vishwas)".
"Delhi has given us love and I want to assure them that your love will get returned in the form of development. Their love, trust on us is a responsibility which Delhi's double engine government will fulfill," he added.