Exponews Political desk.
In the 2013 Delhi Assembly election, Arvind Kejriwal defeated the three-term incumbent Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at the New Delhi constituency, effectively ending her political career, and sending the political fortunes of the Congress in the national capital on a downward spiral from which the party is yet to recover.
More than 11 years later, things came full circle for Kejriwal on Saturday (February 8). The former Chief Minister was defeated by a little over 4,000 votes by the BJP’s Parvesh Sahib Singh, the 47-year-old son of Sahib Singh Verma, one of the three BJP CMs of Delhi. Like Dikshit’s Congress, Kejriwal’s AAP now faces an uncertain political future out of power.
Kejriwal’s electrifying 2013 victory ,many believed was a harbinger of a new kind of politics in India, and the political context in which it came about. AAP and Kejriwal as a political leader grew out of the nonpolitical India Against Corruption (IAC) movement, which channeled the widespread disenchantment with the alleged corruption of the UPA 2 government into a mass agitation that rocked Delhi in 2011 and gripped the imagination of the entire country.
The anti-corruption movement, led by the veteran social activist Anna Hazare, revolved around the demand for a Jan Lokpal Bill that would create an independent body to investigate cases of corruption. While the IAC and Hazare were ostensibly apolitical, the multiple faces that the movement brought to the national limelight were not. Foremost among them was Kejriwal.
In 2012, about a year after the anti-corruption movement reached its peak in Delhi, Kejriwal, along with other prominent IAC activists such as lawyer Prashant Bhushan, social scientist Yogendra Yadav, and Kejriwal’s close aide Manish Sisodia, officially founded the AAP.
Hazare had consistently expressed himself as being against party politics. However, seeing that his protest fast – Hazare’s favoured political weapon – had failed to fundamentally move the political needle towards the change that the IAC wanted, Kejriwal and his colleagues took the plunge into politics to “clean up” the system and to ensure true accountability.
The AAP’s first electoral test came in the 2013 Assembly election in Delhi.
The Congress under Chief Minister Dikshit had then been in power for 15 years. Dikshit had been a popular and charismatic leader; over three consecutive terms, she had unleashed a gamut of developmental and infrastructure projects that had changed the face of Delhi in many ways. During this time, the BJP, the main opposition in the capital, had been in disarray, torn apart by infighting – even as its profile expanded nationally, with Narendra Modi as the party’s new star.
Ahead of the 2013 election, however, Dikshit was fighting strong anti-incumbency, and her popularity had been dented, among other things, by the horrific December 16, 2012 bus gangrape that shook Delhi and triggered unprecedented street protests.
Across the country too, a strong anti-Congress sentiment had taken root. The government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced a slew of corruption allegations and its anti-incumbency, and the BJP was resurgent. And then there was Arvind Kejriwal – a completely new player in the game, the man who represented and was the product of, the popular disenchantment with Congress rule.
Dikshit contested the election from the New Delhi constituency for the third time. This was the erstwhile Gole Market constituency, which had been renamed in 2008 with some minor changes to its boundaries. Kejriwal the civil servant-turned-RTI activist-turned rookie politician took her on directly.
Some felt that Kejriwal’s contest against the powerful incumbent CM was little more than a political gimmick. But the upstart would pull off a victory that would kickstart his, and his party’s political career. The result of the election at the New Delhi seat, though not completely unexpected, was a surprise to most. Kejriwal’s margin of victory, too, surprised most political commentators.
Dikshit could not manage to reach even the 20,000 vote mark, winning barely 500 more votes than the third-placed Vijender Gupta of the BJP. Kejriwal polled more than 44,000 votes and defeated Dikshit by more than 25,000 votes.
A political novice from a ragtag startup party with limited resources had handily defeated arguably the most powerful figure in the history of Delhi politics. It was a remarkable political upset. Throughout the campaign, Kejriwal had targeted Dikshit for alleged corruption, specifically for her alleged role in the so-called Commonwealth Games scam. It paid off. “This is a victory of the people…it shows India has won, democracy has won,” Kejriwal said to a huge crowd of supporters after his official victory.
The Congress won only 8 seats, the AAP 28, and the BJP 31. With the House hung, Kejriwal went back on his previous promises of never teaming up with the Congress and formed the government with the party’s outside support. He resigned after 48 days, citing his failure to push through the Jan Lokpal legislation.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, who once rode on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment and promises of change now finds himself at a crossroads after the crushing defeat in the recent elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A political leader, grappling with the consequences of unfulfilled promises, strategic missteps and corruption charges levelled against him and his colleagues, that even resulted in their incarceration. Kejriwal was the first and only sitting chief minister to be arrested in India!
The political journey of Kejriwal, the face of the Aam Aadmi Party, began with a rise to prominence during the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement in 2011. It propelled him into the political spotlight. His promises were simple but powerful: provide clean governance, deliver better education and healthcare, and improve the lives of Delhi’s residents. For a while, it seemed like Kejriwal and the AAP were the answer to the frustration many citizens felt with traditional political parties.
However, Arvind Kejriwal’s political image came under fire. His promises, which once resonated strongly with the public, slowly faded into a series of unmet commitments and apparent contradictions. The ambitious promises like cleaning the Yamuna Kejriwal made during his campaigns fell short.
The promise of transforming Delhi into a world-class city, for instance, remains largely unrealized. The deeper issues of traffic congestion, pollution, and a strained healthcare system continue to plague the city. Kejriwal’s government also promised a drastic overhaul of Delhi’s education system which was later found to be insufficient to meet the growing demand for quality education across all across the state.
On the healthcare front, the promises of better hospitals and widespread access to medical care did not materialize at the scale that many had hoped for. Kejriwal’s much-touted Mohalla Clinics, designed to provide affordable healthcare in local communities, faced challenges in terms of infrastructure, quality of care, and accessibility.
Beyond the promises, Kejriwal’s political strategy also contributed to his downfall. His frequent confrontation with the central government, particularly with the BJP-led administration at the Centre, while framed as a fight for Delhi’s rights, gradually alienated many voters who saw him as more focused on political point-scoring than on addressing the actual problems facing Delhi. The public perception of Kejriwal as a politician more interested in his image and power, rather than in governance, began to erode his popularity.
Moreover, his attempts to position himself as a national leader, eyeing a larger political stage, led him to stretch the limits of his promises. His frequent forays into national politics, making grand claims about his ability to lead the country, started to backfire. Instead of strengthening his image, it made him appear disconnected from the daily struggles of Delhi’s people. The image of a leader who had once been committed to the grassroots seemed increasingly at odds with the rhetoric of a national politician looking to expand his influence beyond Delhi. Kejriwal succeeded in his expansion by winning elections in Punjab decimating Congress and Akali Dal, and replicating of his Delhi political successes.
In the Delhi Assembly elections this time, the BJP capitalized on Kejriwal’s shortcomings. The party’s stronghold in Delhi and its strategy of portraying Arvind Kejriwal as a leader who had failed to deliver on his promises resonated with a large portion of the electorate. Despite the AAP’s efforts to counter this narrative, it became clear that Kejriwal’s once-strong base of support was eroding. The BJP’s relentless attacks on Kejriwal’s governance, combined with the perception of his disconnect with the common man, ultimately led to his defeat.
For Arvind Kejriwal, this political debacle is a wake-up call. His political career, which had once seemed destined for greater heights, now finds itself in a state of uncertainty. The reality is that promises alone cannot sustain political power — results do. Kejriwal must now reckon with the realization that the public, no matter how hopeful at the beginning, will eventually see through a leader who does not fulfil their expectations.
- Anti-Corruption Movement and Image Building: Arvind Kejriwal built his early political career on the anti-corruption platform. By positioning himself as a champion of the common man against a corrupt establishment, he tapped into widespread dissatisfaction with traditional political parties. Critics argue that this anti-corruption narrative was too simplistic and that once in power, Kejriwal’s government didn’t live up to its lofty promises.
- Education and Healthcare: The achievements of improving the education system and healthcare were often exaggerated to craft a narrative of exceptional governance. Kejriwal’s administration used the publicity around these initiatives to distract from larger issues or failures elsewhere.
- Narrative of Victimhood: Kejriwal has been known to portray himself and his party as victims of political persecution. For example, he has frequently accused the central government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of blocking his policies, undermining his efforts, or even using agencies like the CBI or ED to target him politically. While this stance resonates with his supporters, others view it as an attempt to shift blame and deflect responsibility for governance challenges in Delhi.
- Populist Policies: Kejriwal’s government has implemented a variety of populist policies, such as subsidizing electricity, water, and public transport, which have been highly popular among many residents of Delhi. However, critics argue that these measures were politically motivated to secure votes rather than long-term, sustainable policies that could improve the overall quality of governance. Some even claim that these populist schemes came at the cost of fiscal responsibility and infrastructure development.
- Polarization through Delhi’s Political Scene: Kejriwal often portrayed himself as the only alternative to both the BJP and the Congress, capitalizing on the weaknesses of other parties. His critics accuse him of creating a narrative that exaggerates the deficiencies of other political forces, even if those parties were facing their internal issues. This created a dichotomy, positioning AAP as the sole party that could “fix” Delhi’s problems.
- Controversial Stance on Law and Order: Kejriwal’s administration faced criticism over issues related to law and order in Delhi. In some cases, his critics argue that he sought to shift blame onto the central government or police, especially when major incidents or protests took place in the city. At times, critics felt he used these issues to fuel a narrative of “victimization” to garner public sympathy.
- Focus on National Politics: Arvind Kejriwal expanded AAP’s influence beyond Delhi, trying to contest elections in other states. His critics argue that by focusing too much on national politics and less on local governance, he lost sight of the needs of Delhi. His moves to shift the narrative from local governance to national ambitions were seen by some as a way to boost his personal and party’s political image.
- Cleaning the Yamuna River: Kejriwal pledged to clean the Yamuna River, a commitment that remained largely unmet. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenged Kejriwal to drink Yamuna water, highlighting the unfulfilled promise.
- Improving Delhi’s Infrastructure: Despite promises to enhance infrastructure, critics argue that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) failed to deliver on this front.
The BJP capitalized on these unfulfilled promises, including the failure to improve Delhi’s infrastructure and control pollution but the AAP did not effectively address this issue either during its tenure or during election campaigning.
These unfulfilled promises contributed to the AAP’s defeat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, where the BJP regained control after 27 years.
Arvind Kejriwal, who served as Delhi’s Chief Minister from 2015 to 2024, need to ponder over his debacle and play good politics. Ultimately, the defeat serves as a harsh reminder to all political leaders: “One can’t befool others forever.”
