Delhi Election Results: Turncoats Who Won And Those Who Faced A Shock Defeat

New Delhi: The 2025 Delhi Assembly elections were not just a battleground of intense campaigns and three-way fights between AAP, BJP, and Congress, but they also witnessed a significant wave of political defections. More than 40 candidates reportedly switched parties in the run-up to the polls, hoping to secure better electoral prospects with their new affiliations.

These party hoppers dominated discussions among political analysts and election watchers, as several of them secured tickets and contested for seats, reshaping the political landscape of the national capital. Here’s how some of the most prominent turncoats performed in the elections.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa (BJP) swept Rajouri Garden, defeating AAP’s Dhanwati Chandela by a comfortable 18,000-vote margin. Sirsa had earlier won the 2013 and 2017 elections on an Akali Dal ticket, before shifting allegiance to the BJP in 2021.

In Gandhi Nagar, former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, who joined the BJP ahead of the elections, secured a convincing 12,000-vote victory over AAP’s Naveen Chaudhary.

Tarwinder Singh Marwah, a three-time Congress MLA, emerged as a giant killer by defeating former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in a close contest. His switch to the BJP paid off as he pulled off a major upset.

One of the biggest defections came from former Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot, who left AAP for the BJP ahead of the elections. Contesting on a BJP ticket, Gahlot led his closest AAP rival by 9,000 votes, solidifying his new political position.

Raaj Kumar Anand, another former AAP minister who joined BJP, contested from Patel Nagar, but trailed by over 4,000 votes against his AAP competitor.

In Chhatarpur, it was turncoat vs turncoat as two party defectors went head-to-head. Former BJP MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar, contesting on an AAP ticket, faced off against ex-AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, who had switched to the BJP. In the end, Kartar Singh Tanwar won by 6,000 votes, proving his gamble had worked.

Jitender Singh Shunty, a former BJP MLA turned AAP candidate, struggled to hold ground, trailing by 5,000 votes against the BJP candidate. Shunty, who had gained public goodwill for his social work during the Covid-19 pandemic, could not convert it into electoral success after his party switch.