Delhi Election: AAP Mocks BJP Over 'Lack Of CM Face', Saffron Party Hits Back With 'AAPda' Jibe Yet Again

Updated: Sunday, January 5, 2025, 13:06 [IST]

Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections next month, a new round of social media sparring has erupted between the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP.

AAP mocked the BJP for failing to declare a chief ministerial candidate, posting a humorous video that highlighted the absence of a groom ('dulha') on a horse.

Photo Credit: https://x.com/AamAadmiParty / https://x.com/BJP4Delhi

AAP and BJP engage in a social media battle as dates for high-voltage Delhi polls near

The BJP hit back with an 'AAPda' (disaster) jibe at the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, asserting that it would come to power in Delhi, a state where it has been out of power since 1998.

When announcing his resignation last September, Kejriwal stated he would return as Chief Minister only once the people of Delhi gave him a "certificate of honesty" in the upcoming elections.

Kejriwal had resigned after receiving bail in the excise policy case, having spent six months in jail. AAP leader Atishi then took over as the Chief Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a sharp attack on Kejriwal, accusing the AAP government of being mired in corruption and transforming into an 'aapda' for Delhi.

"They've committed a liquor scam, school scam, and pollution scam. They're openly engaging in corruption and even promoting it. It is a disaster ('aapda') for Delhi, and the residents have declared war against this disaster ('aapda')," said PM Modi during a rally in Ashok Vihar, north-west Delhi.

Kejriwal retorted by asserting that the real disaster lay within the BJP itself.

"The disaster isn't in Delhi. It's within the BJP. The first disaster is that the BJP doesn't have a chief ministerial face. The second is that the BJP has no narrative. The third is that the BJP has no agenda for the Delhi elections," he said.

The Election Commission has yet to announce the dates for the Delhi Assembly elections. The current tenure of the 70-member Delhi Assembly will end on February 23.

In both the 2015 and 2020 elections, AAP won by a landslide, securing 67 and 62 seats, respectively, while the BJP was relegated to single digits with just three and eight seats in the last two elections.