Atishi resigns as Delhi Chief Minister following AAP's electoral defeat

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Sunday submitted her resignation to Governor VK Saxena following Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) defeat in the assembly election on Saturday.

The LG's office said that Saxena has asked the outgoing CM to continue on the post till formation of a new government.

The BJP is expected to stake claim to power next week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from a foreign visit, party leaders said.


"Hon'ble Lt Governor, Shri VK Saxena today received the resignation of Hon'ble CM, Ms Atishi. He asked her to continue in her position till the formation of the new government," Raj Niwas, Delhi posted from its official X handle.

The LG dissolved the Delhi Assembly effective from Saturday, February 8.

AAP, which had secured a whooping 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly in the 2020 election, suffered a heavy defeat in the 2025 election.

This year's election resulted in a clinical victory for BJP, which surpassed the majority mark with 48 seats. AAP secured only 22 seats.


Even though most AAP heavyweights suffered defeats, Atishi managed to retain her seat in Kalkaji, South Delhi. She defeated BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress’s Alka Lamba, maintaining her position from the 2020 elections. Her victory stands out as one of the few positives for AAP in an otherwise difficult election.

Following the party's defeat, Atishi said that the war against BJP would continue, adding that AAP's fight against dictatorship and hooliganism will also continue.

Top AAP leaders suffer

AAP national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lost the New Delhi constituency to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by a margin of 1,200 votes.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia lost narrowly to BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura. Acknowledging the results, Sisodia said, “Our party workers did their best. The people supported us, but I lost by 600 votes. I wish the winning candidate well and hope he serves the constituency.”

Senior AAP leader and the national capital's health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also suffered a loss in Greater Kailash. He was defeated by BJP’s Shikha Rai by a margin of 3,139 votes.

In another major blow, former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who contested from Shakur Basti while out on bail, lost to BJP’s Karnail Singh.