eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE The Urban Tribe While dating sites have lost their sheen, meetup platforms are the new convergence grounds KOLKATA,LATECITY FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT FEBRUARY9,2025 16+4PAGES,`7.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, ` 20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA DELHI ASSEMBLY 70 36 12 Total Seats VERDICT 2025 Majority mark PARTY-WISE VOTE SHARE IN ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS Muslimdominatedseats (Total:7) BJP BJP (▲ 40) (▼40) 1 AAP 48 22 AAP INC 43.57% 6.34% 4.53% 38.51% 53.57% 4.26% 3.66% 2015 32.19% 54.34% 9.65% 2025 2020 6 SCseats (Total12) AAP BJP Others 45.56% 2020 (▲▼) Change in seats from 2020 TotalSC Seats BJP 2025 AAP ■ BJP ■ AAP 3.82% 4 8 Source:ECdata AAP OUSTED, CONG STUCK AT ZERO, VOTERS HAND OVER CAPITAL’S KEYS TO BJP AFTER 27 YEARS Aam aadmi verdict: BJP for Delhi ‘WILL RETURN LOVE WITH VIKAS’ 5-fold jump in BJP seats: PM promises to build modern city BJP workers celebrate in New Delhi on Saturday. Praveen Khanna MALLICA JOSHI, JATIN ANAND, GAYATHRI MANI & SAMAN HUSAIN NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 ENDING ITS 27-year exile from power in the national Capital and handing the ruling AAP a stunning defeat, the BJP swept the Delhi Assembly elections Saturday, bagging 48 of the 70 seats in the House. The remaining 22 seats went to AAP while the Congress drew a blank for the third time in a row. AAP leader and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia were among the prominent leaders who lost. Of the AAP tally of 22 – down from 67 and 62 seats in 2015 and 2020 respectively – most came from the reserved constituencies (8 out of 12) and Muslimmajority seats (6 out of 7). Thanking the people of Delhi for reposing faith in the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a gathering at thepartyheadquartershoursafter the verdict, said, “Delhi has liberated itself from a decade of AAPda (calamity)... Delhi’s voters have shown the truth to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda celebrate the victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, at the party headquarters in the Capital on Saturday. Praveen Khanna BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 Who will be Delhi CM? VERDICT With high stakes, BJP weighs in many factors 2025 DELHI NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 BALANCING GENDER, caste and community with experience, its vision of a “Delhi befitting the status of India's capital city” and consolidating, for the future, a political mandate that has eluded it for close to three decades — these are the factors that are likely to guide the BJP's decision while picking its Delhi Chief Minister, according to party sources. According to sources, discussions on a potential CM began soon after the announcement of theparty'sfinallistof candidates in January, coinciding with the beginning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meetings in the city later that month. So far, the discussions are learnt to have revolved around possibilities ranging from picking one of its seven Lok Sabha MPsfromtheCapital—sixof the seven are first-time Parliamentarians — to choosing one of its new legislators with the highest victory margin, especially a woman leader, for the post. In addition, sources said, the selection of “more than one deputy chief minister” was also a possibility. “ABJPLokSabhaMPcouldbe theCMpick.EastDelhiMPHarsh Malhotra, North East Delhi MP ManojTiwariandNewDelhiMP Bansuri Swaraj seem to tick all the boxes required in this regard,” a party source said. With the BJP currently in the throes of a change at its helm, and, possibly, in its Delhi unit as well, a party source said if an MP is chosen as the Chief Minister, a “senior leader from the state unit” could be fielded for the bypoll from that seat. WhiletheBJPmaybespoiled for choice when it comes to “giantkillers”,bothintermsof gender as well as experience, caste and community — especially CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In 13 seats, Congress tally more than AAP’s margin of loss ANJISHNU DAS & LALMANI VERMA OPTIONS: MP, NEW MLA, SURPRISE PICK JATIN ANAND & GAYATHRI MANI INCLUDES ARVIND KEJRIWAL, MANISH SISODIA SEATS SEVERAL AAP stalwarts, including Arvind Kejriwal, lost by margins smaller than the votes secured by the Congress in their seats. In all, there were 13 such seats out of 70. Incidentally, the Congress failedtoopenitsaccountinDelhi APURVA VISHWANATH ● Tracing AAP map, ONE REFRAIN in the BJP’s election campaign in states has been its rhetoric around the benefits of a “double engine” — the party in power in the state working with the NDA-ruled Centre. In Delhi, this rhetoric rings closer home to reality. Indeed, the BJP’s electoral victory Saturday sets the stage for easing of the prolonged legal tussle over the state’s “unique constitutional status” between the Centre and the former Aam Aadmi Party-led government. As it stands now, Article 239AAof theConstitution,keeps services, land, police and public order out of the control of the lining in AAP loss PAGES 6, 7, 8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kejriwall crumbled: Delhi L-G vs CM: Now ‘double City falling apart, graft cloud, blame game... engine’ on parallel tracks? comeback after 27 years ● Cong sees silver The deserted AAP office in New Delhi on Saturday. Tashi Tobgyal BATTLELINES BLUR ● Behind BJP’s Capital where it is still standing Kejriwal’s New Delhi seat was one of 13 where the AAP defeat margin was less than votes for Congress . ANI for the third time in a row. If Kejriwal lost from New Delhi, Manish Sisodia was defeated from Jangpura, Saurabh BharadwajfromGreaterKailash, Somnath Bharti from Malviya Nagar and Durgesh Pathak from Rajinder Nagar, all seats where theCongressgotmorevotesthan the defeat margin of the AAP. BJP’sParveshVermadefeated Kejriwal—theAAPchiefhadwon AAP TALLY FALLS FROM 62 TO 22 SEATS NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 elected government. While the pre-eminence of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) was accepted in land, police and public order, the issue of services continued to be a key area of conflict between the Centre and the state. Two Constitution benches of the Supreme Court had twice, in 2017andagainin2023,accepted the Delhi government’s position over the Centre’s view and held that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over administrative services in the national capital. However, in May 2023, the Centre brought in an amendment to the GNCTD Act extending the L-G’s powers to transfer and appoint bureaucrats posted to Delhi. Under the new law, a body with the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Chief Secretary and the Principal Home Secretary of the Delhi government would appoint bureaucrats. If this arrangement continues, it means the CM can, effectively,bevetoedbytwosenior bureaucrats on the issue of appointments and transfers of bureaucrats. Whilethisamendmentisunder challenge by the Delhi government, it is unlikely that a BJPruled state would pursue litigationagainsttheCentralgovernment led by its own party. Even in a BJP’s double-engine government,theHomeMinistry, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MALLICA JOSHI & JATIN ANAND NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 IN APRIL 2024, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, former health minister Satyendar Jain, communicationsin-chargeVijayNair and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were in jail. The party’s toughestelectoralbattlewasjust 10 months away. Saturday’s results indicate the missing leadership had a more significant impact on the party than it let on. While Jain was arrested in an alleged money laundering case, the rest were behind bars in the excise policy case being probed by the ED and CBI. All of them were released on bail between August and October. Seniorpartyleaderssaidthat the stints in jail, so close to the elections, was among the key reasonsfortheAAPbeingunable to mount the kind of campaign it did in 2015 and 2020. “While the leaders were in jail, the party was in limbo. This also led to disgruntlement among councillors, who were frustrated because the MCD functioninghadcollapsedunder the AAP and no work was being done. There was no one to calm the tempers. This had an impact onhowelectionswerecontested months down the line,” a senior leader said. ApartfromtargetingtheAAP leadershipovertheliquorpolicy, the other charge that the BJP repeatedly made against the party CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata