Kejriwal’s political arc: Ascent & descent of reformist leader

Coming into existence after a movement against corruption, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) excelled under the leadership of activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal for a decade while expanding its footprint from Delhi to Punjab.

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A decade back, Kejriwal captured the imagination of people, especially the middle class, who were disillusioned with corruption in the government. He had decided to take the matter in his own hands.

In 2013, Kejriwal made a spectacular entry into politics with his plank of fight against corruption, dislodging the 15-year-old Congress regime led by the late Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit.

As it fell short of the majority mark, it took Congress’ support from outside and formed a government which collapsed in 49 days when Kejriwal resigned, blaming “political conspiracy” for blocking the Jan Lokpal Bill.

His exit, however, only fuelled AAP’s popularity, and the party then emerged victorious in back-to-back elections by winning 67 seats in 2015 and 62 seats in 2020 in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. The remaining seats, both times, were captured by the BJP while the Congress drew a blank.

It was under Kejriwal’s leadership, AAP made inroads in Punjab and for the first time contested the elections in 2017. It won 20 seats. In 2022, it repeated its Delhi-like performance by bagging 92 of the 117 seats in the state.

The Delhi Government, despite being in an administrative tug-of-war with L-Gs, performed well under Kejriwal. In the last three years, his image took a hit after the party found itself embroiled in the now-infamous Delhi liquor policy scam, which led to the arrests of key leaders, including Manish Sisodia, and later Kejriwal himself.

Adding to the damage was the “sheesh mahal” controversy, where Kejriwal’s lavish renovation of the official residence — allegedly costing Rs 33.66 crore — was used by the opposition to highlight AAP’s hypocrisy. For a leader who once mocked VIP culture and flaunted his modest lifestyle, the revelations shattered his carefully cultivated image of simplicity.

The past 365 days were marked with significant developments with Kejriwal getting arrested in the excise policy case, losing the CM’s post, giving the baton to Atishi and then ultimately losing the elections.

The biggest irony of Kejriwal’s fall after a meteoric rise was that the very issue that brought him to power — corruption — became the most vulnerable point for his rivals to attack.

Still, despite losing the elections, Kejriwal will be one of those leaders who won’t be easily forgotten owing to his welfare policies like free travel for women in DTC buses, free electricity up to 200 units and free water for domestic use. The freebies even forced his rivals to toe his line.

Despite facing a shrill campaign and a strong wave of anti-incumbency in the February 5 elections, AAP has still managed to win 22 seats that too with a decisive vote share, indicating that the all is not over for the “muffler man”.