From Congress dominance to AAP, how Delhi’s SC-reserved assembly seats eluded the BJP Political Pulse News

In the past, SC-reserved seats in Delhi were won either by the Congress, before the Aam Aadmi Party began its dominance, and by Kejriwal’s party. The last time the BJP had any influence in these seats was in 1993, when it came to power in the capital (it hasn’t managed since then). At that time, the BJP won 49 of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi, including eight of the 13 SC seats. Since then, BJP’s best performance has been in two of these constituencies.

In 1993, the Congress won 14 seats in Delhi, five of which were SC constituencies. In 1998, when it came to power, the Congress won 52 seats, including all 13 reserved seats. Voted back to power in 2003 and 2008, though with fewer seats at 47 and 42 respectively, the Congress maintained its dominance in SC seats. In 2003 BJP won 11 and lost two, while in 2008 it lost two to BJP and one to BSP.

Demonstration in Delhi SC seats

The 2013 elections saw the entry of AAP, and a hung assembly. As the BJP emerged as the single largest party, the Congress extended external support to help the Aam Aadmi Party form the government. AAP won a total of 28 seats in that election, nine of them SC seats. While the Congress lost only one SC seat and a total of eight seats, the BJP won 32 seats, including two SC seats.

In the next two elections, AAP won all 12 SC seats in Delhi, en route to returning to power in 2015 and 2020. AAP’s dominance was overwhelming – it won 67 and 62 seats respectively, with the remaining seats to go. BJP in these two elections. With the Congress seen as a minor force in the Delhi assembly elections, the ensuing battle is likely to be between the ruling AAP and the BJP again.

In 1993, when the BJP had its best performance in Delhi, in SC-reserved seats, it got a vote share of 36.84%, narrowly beating the Congress with 35.68%.

Vote share in Delhi SC seats

In 1998, the Congress came to power with a vote share of 53.89% in SC seats, far ahead of the BJP at 28.6%. The margin in SC seats was equally large in 2003 – when the Congress got 50.36% vote share compared to the BJP’s 32.05% – and again in 2008 – when the Congress got 44.66% and the BJP 31.69%.

While the 2013 contest narrowed the field in terms of vote share in SC seats – AAP led with 34.56%, followed by the BJP at 28.78% and the Congress at 23.86% – AAP led the battle for vote share by a significant margin in 2015 and 2020. In 2015, AAP secured 58.88% votes in SC seats, Compared to BJP at 27.24% and Congress at 9.1%. In 2020, AAP got 57.7% vote share, followed by BJP at 33.76% and Congress at only 3.97%.

A wide gap

Following general recent trends in the Delhi elections, which saw the AAP maintain a huge lead over its rivals, the SC-reserved seats also saw a battle between the two primary contenders, with smaller parties having little impact on the results. For example, in the previous two Assembly elections, the third-placed candidate won more votes than the winner in just one SC seat. In contrast, the third-ranked candidate won more than the margin in all 12 SC seats in 2013. In 2013, the Congress was the primary vote-cutter – it got more than the winning margin in eight scheduled caste seats, hurting the BJP. At least the seats that AAP eventually won.

In 2003 and 2008, it was the BSP that won the votes of the others – it won three SC seats in 2003 and six SC seats in 2008 with a margin of votes. Although the BSP has been a minor player in Delhi, the party played an important role in the 2003 and 2008 assembly elections, garnering a vote share of 11.2%. and 18.6%, respectively, of SC seats. It won its only SC seat in Delhi assembly seat in 2008. Since then, its presence in SC seats declined – its vote share fell to 7.99% in 2013, and then to 3.73% and 1.2% in 2015, respectively. 2020

The BJP’s assembly election struggles, however, have not carried over to its Lok Sabha performance. In the last three elections, the BJP won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, assembly constituency-level data shows that the BJP led in nine SC-reserved constituencies, the Congress in two and the AAP in just one.

AAP spokesperson Pritam Pal Singh said that AAP is the only party that has followed the principles outlined in the constitution, focusing on equal education and healthcare for all. “Union Home Minister Amit Shah should apologize for his comments on our beloved Babasaheb Ambedkar, the creator of the Constitution. BJP leaders seem to be touching and washing the feet of Dalits in elections just because of the equal voting rights given by Babasaheb to 140 crore Indians,” Singh said.

However, the BJP claims that the “illusion” people have about the Aam Aadmi Party is dispelling. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapur said, “People know that Arvind Kejriwal has not done a single thing in 10 years in Delhi in memory of BR Ambedkar. Kejriwal has never visited the memorial at 26, Alipore Road, Delhi (Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial) in front of his residence. He made that monument. We will raise all of them in the election.

AAP ally Congress at the national level has also targeted the AAP for “only making announcements and doing nothing for Dalits on the ground”. “Congress’ traditional core vote shifted to Aam Aadmi Party in the past but this time we are witnessing an environment where Dalits are returning to their old party Congress. There will be a change in all 12 SC-reserved seats,” said Anil Bharadwaj.