AAP New Strategy: AAP faces defeat in Delhi elections DELAWARE, Feb. 9 (Reuters) – The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a devastating defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections held on Feb. 5 and results announced on Feb. 8. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 48 of the 70 seats, ending a decade of AAP rule in the capital. AAP won 22 seats, down from its 62-seat victory in 2020, in the biggest shake-up in Delhi politics since the city’s formation.
In response, Arvind Kejriwal, AAP’s national convener and former Delhi CM, is said to be relinquishing charge of the capital to Atishi Marlena, the outgoing CM and Kalkaji MLA, while concentrating on the party’s expansion in Punjab and Gujarat, a shift that the insiders say is meant to rebuild AAP’s battered image after a crushing election defeat.
Delhi election 2025 AAP loss
Delhi election results, declared by India’s Election Commission, gave a huge boost to the BJP, which had not ruled the capital since 1998. With a vote share of 45. 6% compared to AAP’s 43. 6%—a 2% difference—the result showed a dramatic shift even though the popular vote was close. Key AAP figures like Kejriwal (defeated in New Delhi by BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4, 089 votes) and Manish Sisodia (losing Jangpura) were rejected, while Atishi emerged as a rare bright spot, retaining Kalkaji. The Indian National Congress failed to win a single seat for the third election in a row, though its vote share increased slightly.
AAP has since then been holding meetings with MLAs, Punjab workers involved in the Delhi campaign and winning and losing candidates. ‘Review meetings are on, ’ said Sanjeev Jha, a four-time MLA from Burari. ‘The leadership has met everyone—MLAs, defeated candidates, campaign workers. The Political Affairs Committee [PAC] will soon meet to decide the way forward based on this feedback. ’ The PAC is AAP’s top decision-making body and is expected to finalize major decisions, including a leadership transition in Delhi and an action plan for national expansion.
Experts say that the AAP lost because it failed to deliver on promises like cleaning the Yamuna River, failed to invest in civic infrastructure (eight out of 10 voters were unhappy with cleanliness, according to Lokniti-CSDS surveys), and faced corruption charges for the 2022 liquor policy scam. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2024, becoming India’s first jailed sitting CM, on charges of corruption in the liquor policy scam. He claimed it was a BJP-led central government vendetta.
Kejriwal Hands Delhi to Atishi
But in the midst of this turmoil, Atishi, 43, who would take charge of AAP’s Delhi unit after she resigns as CM on February 9, 2025, after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena dissolves the Assembly, has given the party hope with her win in Kalkaji against BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri. Atishi’s education reforms, which transformed government schools in Delhi and earned her global recognition, and her clean image make her the perfect caretaker to rebuild AAP’s Delhi base.
“Atishi has not been at the receiving end of the controversy that engulfed Kejriwal and others, ” a senior AAP official said on condition of anonymity. “She will spearhead Delhi’s legislative agenda and keep the party in the news while Kejriwal takes a leave of absence. ” But Atishi’s task as opposition leader in a BJP-controlled Assembly is formidable. She will have to hold the new government to account, especially on promises like Yamuna clean-up and welfare continuity, while negotiating a hostile central administration that has long derailed AAP’s governance through bureaucratic skirmishes.
AAP Punjab Gujarat Expansion: Kejriwal’s Plan
Kejriwal freed from daily demands of Delhi, he is visiting Punjab and Gujarat to breathe new life into AAP’s national ambitions. Since 2022, AAP has ruled Punjab with 92 out of 117 seats. It is a bastion, but recent governance glitches under CM Bhagwant Mann have raised questions about its strength. Kejriwal’s Feb 25, 2025, meeting with Mann and Punjab MLAs seeks to consolidate this stronghold with welfare schemes like expansions of healthcare, preparing the ground for future polls.
Meanwhile, in Gujarat AAP’s next target. Winning five seats in the 2022 Assembly elections (13% vote share), it dented the BJP’s hold on Narendra Modi’s home state. Kejriwal hopes to expand on this base by appealing to urban voters with free electricity and healthcare—strategies that worked in Delhi and Punjab. Local elections are scheduled for 2025-2026. His direct involvement could turn AAP from a marginal player into a serious challenger to the BJP’s dominance.
‘Delhi was AAP’s limit, ’ said political analyst Neerja Choudhury. ‘Punjab is the stability. Gujarat is the opportunity. Kejriwal is betting on both to sustain AAP nationally. ’ That fits with AAP’s broader plan to become a third force by 2029. It would use coalition dynamics if it gains traction and seek a significant presence in the general elections.
Kejriwal’s Corruption Image Fix Strategy
Loss casts doubt on integrity of anti-corruption ethos at heart of AAP’s 2012 Anna Hazare movement The liquor policy case, alleging crores of rupees of kickbacks, led to Sisodia’s 17-month jail term till August 2024 and Kejriwal’s brief stint behind bars. They deny any wrongdoing but the BJP’s incessant ‘corrupt AAP’ campaign sounded the death knell for Kejriwal’s outsider appeal with middle-class voters who once rallied around his outsider image.
The AAP’s counter-play is two-fold. First, Kejriwal’s exit from Delhi — giving up the CM’s bungalow and perks after jail — will be spun as a martyr who gave up power for principle. ‘He lives like an ordinary citizen now’, said one MLA. ‘We’ll put this before the people to rebuild trust. ’ Second, the party wants to reinforce its image as an honest, welfare party in Punjab and Gujarat, and distance itself from Delhi’s baggage.
“BJP has blackened the image of our leaders, but AAP is clean at its core, ” the MLA said. ‘We don’t play caste or religion—we deliver. That’s our connect with voters. ’ But many are skeptical of this story. X posts reflect the divided mood: some hail AAP’s bounce back, others mock its ‘fall from grace. ’’
AAP New Strategy – Risks and Opportunities
But this reshuffling carries risks. In Delhi, Atishi’s inexperience could stutter under BJP’s legislative dominance and central meddling, risking erosion of AAP’s base. One misstep could cede the capital to the BJP forever. In Punjab, Kejriwal’s oversight risks alienating Mann, whose local charisma powers AAP’s success there. Gujarat’s rural caste dynamics and BJP’s organizational strength test AAP’s urban-centric approach.
But the upside is also huge. A revival in Punjab, a breakthrough in Gujarat and a steady Delhi opposition would recast it as a national alternative to BJP and Congress. Success in shaking off the corruption tag would restore its moral authority, an asset in India’s crowded political marketplace.
