Bhubaneswar: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which had consecutively won three Assembly elections in Delhi suffered a major jolt, when it managed to get only 22 seats in the 2025 Assembly elections.
The AAP failed to counter the BJP narrative of massive corruption, scams and misgovernance by its leaders, which ensured a win for the saffron party after 27 years in the national capital.
The BJP campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior leaders struck a chord with the voters.
While several factors weighed in on the party’s loss, which saw its seat tally also going down by a huge margin, Arvind Kejriwal’s “failed promises, liquor policy and Sheesh Mahal” remained in focus. In comparison to the AAP’s tally from the 2020 Delhi election of 62 seats, this year’s 22-seat count was a major downfall.
Kejri’s Wall Collapsed
Kejriwal‘s ‘sheesh mahal’ or luxurious Chief Minister residence has been a key factor in the BJP’s poll campaign against the AAP in the run-up to the Delhi election. The saffron party accused Kejriwal of building a palace for himself while the poor and those in need were forced to stay in shanties. The Prime Minister also said while the world was struggling to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the AAP leader was building ‘Sheesh Mahal’.
The BJP leaders also highlighted the fact that when he came to power, Kejriwal said he needs a two -bedroom flat for his residence but he spends more than Rs 30 crores in the Sheesh Mahal.
Besides, the BJP wooed the women voters by pointing out the AAP’s liquor policy due to which some AAP senior leaders had to cool their heel behind bars in Tihar Jail.
The liquor policy helped the BJP to run an anti-AAP campaign in the slums, especially among women, because alcohol and drug abuse are big problems there.
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare , with whom Kejriwal was associated for a long time before going into mainstream politics, said that AAP lost due to the tainted image of its leadership and the controversies surrounding liquor and money.
Besides, the Prime Minister in his meeting highlighted how the AAP blocked implementation of the Central schemes like the Ayushman Bharat due to which poor people burnt a hole in their pocket to get treatment.