Jail, Bail & Politics Ka Khel: How AAP Navigated A Challenging Year Ahead Of 2025 Polls
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After two landslide victories, Arvind Kejriwal and AAP are hopeful for a next term that will take them closer to the record held by Sheila Dikshit and Congress in Delhi
The AAP will try to incur sympathy and use the L-G’s nod to reach out to its voters for Delhi polls. (PTI)
Established just a decade ago, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been writing new narratives in Indian politics since its inception on the bedrock of an anti-corruption movement. Cut to 2024, AAP has faced several challenges, including a phase when its entire top brass was in prison, ironically on charges of corruption.
As the year draws to a close, AAP, which claims to be stronger than ever, is gearing up for the 2025 Delhi assembly polls along with a whole new set of challenges.
An eventful beginning
The scenes unfolding in the national capital as the year commenced seemed to be straight out of a Bollywood potboiler as party supremo and then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped summons from the Enforcement Directorate. Kejriwal’s arrest, however, was imminent, with rumour mills running over time to guess when he would be behind bars.
Even as Kejriwal played ‘Catch Me if You Can’ with ED officials, three of his confidantes were already in prison — cabinet minister Satyendar Jain, then deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
With dates for Lok Sabha elections announced and three important party faces inside jail, the trials and tribulations of the party — and Kejriwal — had just begun.
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On March 21, less than a week after election dates were announced, Kejriwal was arrested for his alleged involvement in the scrapped Delhi liquor policy case.
What ensued was a rarely seem political drama as AAP workers mobilised for strength on ground. The party displayed unity in its toughest time, with leaders and party workers standing strong. They also battled allegations that opposition leaders were trying to break not just the party but also topple the Delhi government.
The organisation found some strength on April 2 as Singh was released on bail.
AAP was now looking at brighter days ahead. The next month, when Delhi was set for polling, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail from May 10 to June 1 to campaign for the elections.
Many battles, fewer victories
In the Lok Sabha election, the AAP contested 22 seats across India, including seven in Delhi. Once the elections were over, Kejriwal went back to jail.
The results were declared and the party managed to win three seats in Punjab. The victory was not historic for the party, which had won four seats in 2014.
AAP failed in Delhi too. Despite fighting the election as an INDIA ally, AAP couldn’t secure a single seat.
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From July, the party started its preparations for the assembly polls in Delhi to be held in the first two months of 2025. Party workers, led by Singh, now chief minister Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj launched campaigns while Kejriwal, Sisodia and Jain continued to be behind bars.
In August, Sisodia was granted bail after spending 17 months in jail. The party not just celebrated the release but also put him to work for the assembly poll campaign. Within weeks, Kejriwal was released on bail in September. In October, Jain was granted bail.
Kejriwal, who refused to resign despite being asked by allies while he was in jail, resigned within days of his release. What could have been a leadership vacuum and an opportunity for the opposition to pounce upon turned out to be Kejriwal’s Plan B.
The surprise move gave Delhi its third female chief minister in Atishi. As the Kalkaji MLA completed almost three months in the chair, she surpassed late Sushma Swaraj’s term in office.
Now that Kejriwal was free from the chief ministerial post, he put his focus on political campaigning. From padyatras to public meeting and speeches, he made himself an essential part of all campaigning strategies in Delhi.
Meanwhile, assembly polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir took place where AAP contested. While the party failed miserably in Haryana despite a strong campaign, it found space in the J&K assembly through its maiden victory in Doda.
Another blow to AAP in 2024 was the unofficial withdrawal of the party’s Rajya Sabha MP, Swati Maliwal. While she has not quit the party officially, she is now a vocal critic of the top brass and the government.
The fissures became evident when Kejriwal walked out of jail in May to campaign for the party. Maliwal, who had also served as the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women under Kejriwal’s term, alleged that Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal’s close aide, assaulted her at the then chief minister’s residence on May 13.
The incident kicked off a political storm in the city, which eventually soured relations between AAP and Maliwal. Initially, the party promised it would take action against Kumar but later accused Maliwal of acting on BJP’s directions. Kumar went to jail and was released on bail soon after.
Exits and resignations
Apart from Kejriwal’s registration, the party also lost two sitting cabinet ministers this year who then moved to the BJP.
On April 10, Raaj Kumar Anand resigned from the cabinet and AAP, citing the alleged corruption charges against the party leadership. In November, the party lost its senior leader and cabinet minister Kailash Gahlot to BJP. In both the cases, AAP claimed that the leaders were under pressure as they were facing raids from central agencies. The party also lost a number of small leaders and a few MLAs in between.
However, throughout the year, AAP held on to the narrative of unity in its people.
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Meanwhile, several leaders from Congress and BJP joined AAP and found space in the party’s 2025 assembly poll list.
As of mid-December, the party has issued its list of 70 candidates and several turncoats have been given a chance, dropping the sitting MLAs.
2025: A critical year for AAP
In 2013, the party took help from Congress to form a government in the city. In 2015, of the 70 seats, it bagged 67. In 2020, it won 62 seats in Delhi.
After two landslide victories, Kejriwal and AAP are hopeful for a next term that will take them closer to the record held by Sheila Dikshit and Congress in Delhi.
This is not just a test of their governance but the results of the 2025 assembly polls in Delhi will also re-establish Kejriwal’s grasp over the national capital and his desire to be a bigger leader in national politics.
