Kejriwal turned AAP into corrupt entity: Ex-aide Bhushan

Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) former co-founder Prashant Bhushan has held AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal responsible for the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections.

In a scathing social media post on Sunday, Bhushan accused Kejriwal of transforming AAP from an organisation founded on alternative, transparent politics into a “supremo-dominated” and “corrupt” entity.

Bhushan, who was expelled from the party years ago, criticised Kejriwal for building a lavish “sheesh mahal” for himself, traveling in luxury cars and abandoning the party’s founding principles. He said under Kejriwal’s leadership, the party had strayed from its commitment to transparency and accountability. Bhushan also accused AAP of failing to pursue a Lokpal (ombudsman), removing its own Lokpal and disregarding expert committee reports.

“Kejriwal is largely responsible for AAP’s Delhi debacle. A party formed for alternative politics, which was supposed to be transparent, accountable and democratic, was quickly transformed by Kejriwal into a supremo-dominated, non-transparent and corrupt party that didn’t pursue a Lokpal,” Bhushan wrote on X.

He further alleged that Kejriwal had undermined the party’s democratic values and pursued policies based on expediency rather than principle.

Bhushan also shared a 2015 open letter to Kejriwal, following his expulsion from the party, in which he had warned Kejriwal about the dangers of moving away from clean, principled politics. In the letter, Bhushan described the chaotic National Council meeting where Kejriwal had launched personal attacks against him and Yogendra Yadav, ultimately leading to their removal from key positions in the party.

In his letter, Bhushan recalled several moments from AAP’s internal turmoil, including Kejriwal’s insistence on forming a government with Congress support despite opposition from party members, controversial decisions regarding candidate selections and a series of unethical political tactics used to maintain power.

Bhushan described how Kejriwal’s decisions went against majority opinion.