As the BJP easily won Delhi and gained over 40 more seats, five key members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were decisively defeated. They include national convener Arvind Kejriwal, AAP Number 2 Manish Sisodia, and leading minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
These important figures of the AAP lost out.
Arvind Kejriwal: Following the anti-corruption campaign against the UPA government, Mr. Kejriwal brought a message of change into politics as the national convener of the AAP. Initially sworn in as Chief Minister in 2013 for a brief term, he guided the AAP to victory in the 2015 and 2020 elections. He was taken into custody last year in connection with a corruption case involving Delhi’s now-cancelled liquor policy. Mr. Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister after being granted bail, stating that he would not take office again until the “people’s court” ruled in his favour. In New Delhi, Parvesh Verma of the BJP defeated him.
Manish Sisodia: In Jangpura, BJP candidate Tarvinder Singh Marwah defeated Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister and AAP number two leader, Mr. Sisodia. Previously an MLA from Patparganj in east Delhi three times, he had moved to Jangpura for this poll. Before being granted release, Mr. Sisodia was detained for over a year and a half after being arrested in 2023 in connection with a corruption case involving the liquor policy. Similar to Mr. Kejriwal, he had declined to join the administration prior to the “people’s verdict.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj: The BJP’s Shikha Roy defeated Saurabh Bharadwaj, a well-known AAP leader who had won the Greater Kailash seat three times in 2013. Among his many responsibilities as a minister in the Delhi government were the supply of water, electricity, and homes. His seat was thought to be secure for the AAP, but the BJP was able to reverse that perception.
Durgesh Pathak: A member of the national executive and political affairs committee of the AAP, Mr. Pathak lost to Umang Bajaj of the BJP in the Rajinder Nagar constituency in Delhi. After a by-election in 2022, Mr. Pathak was elected to the seat. This time, he was nominated again but lost.
Avadh Ojha: After joining the AAP before the election, Avadh Ojha—a former IAS coach who is now a politician and well-known for his social media videos—was chosen as the party’s candidate from Patparganj in east Delhi. Mr. Sisodia won the Patparganj seat three times in a row. This time, Mr. Sisodia moved to Jangpura. Mr. Ojha lost to the BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi by a margin of over 28,000 votes.
