Delhi: With Corruption Allegations And Rising Discontent Against AAP Government, 2025 Election Is Nothing Like The Last Time

This is the edited transcript from Diksha Yadav's podcast What This Means with Kapil Mishra, BJP's vice president for Delhi. (Listen to the full episode on Spotify or on the Swarajya app).

Why did Arvind Kejriwal not choose Manish Sisodia or Gopal Rai for the chief ministership?

Kejriwal wanted to choose someone who did not have a support base in the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) organisation. Leaders like Sisodia or Rai have supporters in the sangathan, as they have been around since the time of Anna Andolan/anti-corruption movement.

So he wanted a new entrant who would not only work as a puppet CM but also had no scope of creating a support base of his/her own within the party and outside — hence, Atishi Marlena was chosen.

Added to that, Marlena's leftist background could also gather support from the 'leftist-marxist-jihadi ecosystem' for the AAP.

By choosing Marlena and how she has been blatantly projecting herself as a puppet CM, Kejriwal wanted to send a message to his party leaders and members that no one was above him and no one can overpower him.

Observers say that if we look at the voting trends in Delhi, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won all the seven parliamentary seats of Delhi in the last Lok Sabha elections as well, if it were the state assembly elections, then the story would have been different with AAP winning the majority.

We should keep in mind that, though the BJP won all the LS seats in Delhi in 2014 and 2019 as well, the situation this time was different; the BJP was fighting against the INDI Alliance, and still it was able to perform well and give the same results.

Secondly, as for the Vidhan Sabha also, a lot has happened in the past five years, which has put AAP at the backfoot. Number one being a lack of good governance.

From the water clogging issues during the monsoon, the polluted Yamuna river, the potholes on roads to the schools, hospitals, etc. Added to that, party leaders are facing corruption allegations. From Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, Sanjay Singh to Arvind Kejriwal himself — all of whom are prominent AAP leaders — have been to jail in these last five years. 

Moreover, people of Delhi have not forgotten the mismanagement and failure of the healthcare system they witnessed during the COVID-19 outbreak. The violence and the riots that Delhi faced and the endless road blockade—all this happened under Kejriwal's rule, and people have not forgotten that.

Therefore, things are very different now for the AAP in Delhi from how they were in the previous Vidhan Sabha elections.

Is there anti-incumbency towards the AAP government on the ground? Who are the people who are expressing their concerns or are unhappy or dissatisfied with the state government?

Yes. There are a lot of people who are extremely disappointed with the AAP government and their governance. However, the following five sections of people who, in a way, also helped Kejriwal win through their unwavering support, are now disappointed in him.

- Autorickshaw drivers are not only disappointed but also angry with Kejriwal over not fulfilling the various promises he had made to them.

-  Another crucial section that had largely supported AAP was of the temporary staff (workers of civil defence, home guards, data entry operators, etc.), who are now unhappy with the AAP government. They have also been on the streets protesting against the party because they were promised permanent jobs. Add to that, around 10,000 kacche karamcharis (temporary staff) were removed from their jobs.

- A lot of promises were made to the youth of the state as well, including creating eight lakh jobs per year, free Wi-Fi at public places, opening of more higher education institutions, scholarships for higher education for students preparing to study abroad, and more, all of which were not fulfilled. Hence, a large number of youth are upset with the state government.

- Apart from these, anganwadi employees, the people living in jhuggi jhopadi (slums) who were promised pucca houses, and the people living in unauthorised colonies who were promised sewage, roads, and other infrastructure, are discontent and unhappy with Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP government. The AAP enjoyed their support and trust previously, but not anymore.

Does the AAP chief, Arvind Kejriwal, directly fighting as a CM face put them at an advantage over the BJP, which usually fights without a CM face in the state? 

Not at all. And even if you consider that it was a factor previously, that factor is absent now. This is because even the AAP cannot claim that Kejriwal would become the state's CM, as he is out only on bail and under a lot of restrictions, which doesn't allow him to even enter the CM office.

Secondly, with allegations of corruption against him and other party leaders, Kejriwal doesn't hold a clean image anymore in the eyes of the citizens.

This was proved in the 2024 LS elections, where none of his emotional appeals and 'jail ke badle vote' campaign could strike a chord with the people of Delhi.