The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will return to power in Delhi after 27 years, having won a clear majority of seats in the Assembly election, the results of which were declared on Saturday (February 8). The BJP has had three Chief Ministers in Delhi before this — Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj. The fourth will likely be announced soon. The BJP ruled Delhi between 1993 and 1998, and the tenures of its three previous CMs saw political scandals and infighting that hurt and weakened the party. Here is a look at the three previous Delhi CMs of the BJP and their tenures. Madan Lal Khurana, Dec 1993-Feb 1996 Khurana was the first CM to serve Delhi after the state Legislative Assembly was reinstated through the 69th Constitution Amendment Act, 1991. The Assembly elections were held in November 1993, in which the BJP won 49 seats and the Congress got 14. One reason for the Congress’s poor performance was the party’s role in the anti-Sikh violence of 1984. Khurana was a popular leader, known as “Delhi ka Sher” (Lion of Delhi) for his efforts to strengthen the party in Delhi. However, he could not complete his term in power. In 1995, Khurana’s name appeared in the infamous Hawala scandal that implicated leaders across party lines. Mounting political pressure forced him to resign less than a year later. Sahib Singh Verma, Feb 1996-Oct 1998 Khurana’s resignation paved the way for Sahib Singh Verma to become the second BJP CM (and fourth overall) of Delhi on February 27, 1996. However, Verma faced opposition from Khurana, leading to a power struggle between the two leaders and infighting within the party. Verma grappled with economic issues like the skyrocketing prices of onion, which had reportedly touched Rs 60 per kg around Diwali in 1998 – extremely high for the time. He also failed to manage the power and water crises in Delhi. As all these reasons sparked public discontent against the BJP, Verma had to step down a few months ahead of the 1998 Assembly polls. His tenure lasted for two years and 228 days. Interestingly, it is Verma’s son, Parvesh Sahib Singh, who has won the biggest contest of the 2025 Assembly election – having defeated Arvind Kejriwal at the New Delhi seat. Sushma Swaraj, Oct-Dec 1998 Verma was succeeded by Sushma Swaraj, who became Delhi's first woman CM. The BJP had hoped that a new face would help it fight anti-incumbency in the Union Territory. During her 52-day tenure, Swaraj had to firefight on several fronts. Soon after she took charge, the CM set up a committee to restore the supply of onions to help bring down the prices. Swaraj also reportedly arranged vans for distributing onions across Delhi. However, these efforts could not save the BJP’s sinking ship. The Congress came to power, winning 52 seats. The party would rule Delhi for the next 15 years.
