The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, which was in power for the previous ten years, lost the election, with several prominent leaders and cabinet ministers including national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Kumar Jain, Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Rakhi Birla, and Durgesh Pathak losing their seats.

The previous Delhi Legislative Assembly elections were held in February 2020, resulting in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) forming the state government.

[10][11] A Delhi court denied the plea filed by Kejriwal seeking a seven-day interim bail and extended judicial custody until 19 June and subsequently till 3 July 2024.

[15][16] On 12 July 2024, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Voters in Delhi expressed deep frustration over the failure to clean the Yamuna River, a promise made by the AAP government in 2020 that remained unfulfilled.

Additionally, air pollution and the shortage of clean drinking water emerged as major concerns, with more than 80% of voters highlighting these as pressing issues.

Additionally, several key AAP leaders suffered electoral defeats, reflecting growing public disillusionment with the party’s governance and its ability to deliver on its promises.

Later prime minister Narendra Modi officially launched the party campaign at a rally in Rohini, where he criticized the government on issues of water shortages, pollution etc.

[53] The yatra was launched by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on 8 November[54] and was to cover all seventy assembly constituencies in four phases.

In the second phase, party chief Yadav highlighted sanitation, problems faced by daily wagers and hawkers as the main issues plaguing Delhi.

[58] The party accused the AAP state government of failing to resolve basic problems, such as supply of dirty water, increased electricity bills, long wait for ration cards and pension for beneficiaries in the 10 last years.

[62][63] On January 6, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar announced the Pyari Didi Yojna, a proposed scheme that would provide financial assistance of ₹2,500 per month to women in Delhi, should the Congress party come to power.

He highlighted that this initiative would be modeled after the Gruha Lakshmi scheme implemented by the Congress government in Karnataka, which he said benefited 1.22 crore women in the state.