India PM Modi’s party seeks to regain control of New Delhi region in state elections

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This article was published 04/02/2025 (272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party was trying to regain power in the federal territory that includes New Delhi on Wednesday as residents voted in a state legislature election.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party hasn’t won the territory that includes India’s capital of 20 million people in over a quarter-century.

The BJP is up against the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal, which runs New Delhi and has built widespread support with its welfare policies and anti-corruption movement. But Kejriwal, a popular anti-corruption crusader, suffered a setback after he and other AAP leaders faced graft allegations.

Election results are due Saturday. More than 15 million people are eligible to vote.

The BJP failed to secure a majority on its own in last year’s national election but formed the government with coalition partners. It has gained some lost ground by winning two state elections in northern Haryana and western Maharashtra states.

Ahead of this election, both Modi and Kejriwal offered to revamp government schools and provide free health services and electricity, along with a monthly stipend of over 2,000 rupees ($25) to poor women.

Modi’s party hopes to benefit after last week’s federal budget slashed income taxes on the salaried middle class, one of its key voting blocs.

The AAP won 62 out of 70 seats in a landslide victory in the last state legislature election in 2020. leaving BJP with eight and the Congress party with none. The BJP was voted out of power in Delhi in 1998 by the Congress party, which ran the government for 15 years.

Political analyst Neerja Chowdhury said this time, the corruption case has dented Kejriwal’s image.

Kejriwal was arrested last year along with two key party leaders on charges of receiving bribes from a liquor distributor. They have denied the accusations, saying they are part of a political conspiracy. The Supreme Court allowed the release of Kejriwal and other ministers on bail. Kejriwal later relinquished the chief minister’s post to his most senior party leader.

Opposition parties widely condemned Kejriwal’s arrest, accusing Modi’s government of misusing federal investigation agencies to harass and weaken political opponents. They pointed to several raids, arrests and corruption investigations of key opposition figures before the national election.

Kejriwal formed the AAP in 2012 after tapping into public anger over corruption scandals. His pro-poor policies have focused on fixing state-run schools and providing cheap electricity, free health care and bus transport for women.