The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a crushing defeat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly election, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reclaiming power after 27 years. The BJP secured 48 of the 70 seats, while AAP, which had won 62 seats in 2020, was reduced to just 22. The Congress, contesting separately despite being part of the INDIA bloc at the national level, failed to win a single seat.
Reacting to the results, ousted AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav attributed the party’s downfall to Arvind Kejriwal’s over-reliance on “bluster, propaganda,” and a departure from his initial promise of alternative politics. “This is the beginning of the end of AAP,” Bhushan declared, criticizing Kejriwal’s governance style and strategic miscalculations.
Yadav, co-founder of Swaraj India and a political analyst, called the defeat a major setback not just for AAP but for all those who once hoped for a new kind of politics in India. “AAP abandoned the idea of alternative politics long ago and became dependent on welfare schemes, which eventually reached their saturation point,” he said.
From Anti-Corruption Crusader to Political Collapse
Arvind Kejriwal’s political journey began in the early 2000s when he quit his job as an income tax officer to become an RTI activist, later joining Anna Hazare in the 2011 India Against Corruption movement. His relentless push for the Jan Lokpal Bill made him a national figure, leading to the formation of AAP.
Despite a rocky start—resigning as Delhi Chief Minister after just 49 days in 2014—Kejriwal made a stunning comeback in 2015, securing a near-total sweep of the Delhi Assembly. His popularity remained strong in 2020, but his political fortunes took a sharp turn in 2024 when he was jailed over alleged corruption in the excise policy scam. Kejriwal, who had claimed that the people of Delhi would certify his honesty in the election, instead faced a stunning rejection at the polls.
With the BJP’s decisive victory, the political landscape of Delhi has undergone a seismic shift, raising questions about AAP’s future and Kejriwal’s role in Indian politics.
Source: Media
