Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 | Uphill task for an out of favour AAP as 'Brand Kejriwal' loses sheen

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party has entered a challenging phase in its existence with an electoral rout in Delhi, losing two-third of seats it kept for ten years and its top gun Arvind Kejriwal, on whose sole charisma it won past polls, and his close aides shown the door.

While it always modelled itself as an ‘opposition party in power’, the defeat in Delhi, its high seat, has taken the sheen out of its anti-corruption plank and ‘Delhi Model’ of governance, raising a question on ‘Brand Kejriwal’ that could impact the party’s growth elsewhere in the country.

Though AAP managed to cling on to around 43.6 per cent votes, down from 53.57 per cent in 2020, a decisive chunk of poor, women and middle-class deserted Kejriwal for BJP as he lost the novelty factor and voters drifted away from the high-shrill campaign.

It also showed that those ‘right-wing’ voters who used to choose Kejriwal over BJP in the Assembly elections have returned to the saffron fold to bring in a “double-engine government” in the capital.

As results poured in, a downcast Kejriwal “accepted the people’s verdict” and expressed hope that BJP would keep its word on its promises. He promised AAP will function as a “constructive” opposition and continue to serve people as they are in politics “not for power but to serve people”.

In 2015 and 2020, people voted for Kejriwal across Delhi as if its candidates did not matter but they chose not to do so in 2025. Kejriwal’s attempt to woo several drifting sections back to AAP during the campaign did not bring much success.

This was despite Kejriwal re-energising AAP, which he saw in disarray when he came out of jail on bail in the liquor scam case in September last year. The party had to rely heavily on Kejriwal this time compared to previous election other leaders helped him in the heavy lifting.

Anti-incumbency, graft allegations against Kejriwal and others, voter fatigue and confrontation politics have dented people’s faith in AAP, which was catapulted into the country’s political landscape through an anti-corruption movement.

At no point, AAP could create a wave around its themes and voters refused to be swayed by claims that BJP would stop schemes like free power and free water or those like ‘poisoning’ of Yamuna river.

Also, the defeat of Kejriwal’s senior aides like Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Satyendar Jain, Durgesh Pathak and Somnath Bharti, who were considered performers, cannot be attributed just to Congress cutting votes but to the overall disenchantment with AAP.

The challenge for Kejriwal would be to sustain AAP as an opposition party in Delhi, as the bench strength has dwindled to 22 from 62, for the next five years and contain any growth Congress could have during this period. He would have to ensure that his MLAs and leaders stick together.

It has Punjab under its belt but with a popular Bhagwant Mann at the helm there, Kejriwal would also have to ensure that the party’s only Chief Minister becomes a power centre.

It will also be keenly watched how AAP deals with Congress in the I.N.D.I.A bloc as it had faced heavy firing from the latter in the election.

The actual test for the AAP will be to survive the onslaught of the BJP, which might politically decimate the Kejriwal-led party

Delhi assembly elections 2025 results | Get all latest updates here

Delhi assembly elections 2025 results | Get constituency-wise details here

Delhi Assembly Election 2025 | The Delhi Assembly Elections saw a fierce contest between AAP and BJP, while Congress despite its best attempts failed to make a mark. The saffron party is all set to make a comeback in the national capital after almost three decades as AAP chief Kejriwal has accepted the people's verdict and looks to be part of a constructive opposition. Reactions from all quarters are pouring in as BJP celebrates its first electoral win in 2025, with Bihar polls slated to take place later this year. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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