Ex-AAP leader Yogendra Yadav on why he ‘won’t celebrate’ Arvind Kejriwal-led party's defeat in Delhi election

Yogendra Yadav, former AAP leader, warns that the party's defeat in Delhi signals shrinking space for alternative politics, marginalising the underprivileged.

Former Aam Aadmi Party leader and Swaraj India party co-founder Yogendra Yadav has expressed deep concern over the implications of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party's defeat in the Delhi assembly election, warning that the loss could signal the shrinking space for alternative politics and the marginalisation of the city's underprivileged communities.

Swaraj India party co-founder Yogendra Yadav and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

In an opinion piece for The Indian Express, Yogendra Yadav, however, acknowledges that the AAP’s loss was a verdict on its decade-long rule.

“Yes, the AAP deserved its electoral drubbing. Yet there is nothing to celebrate here. Indeed, anyone who stands for constitutional democracy must worry and reflect. I worry, not because I am an admirer of AAP and its leadership. Frankly, the party that came to transform politics had accepted, within the first couple of years, the given rules of the game of politics. It is fair to say that in the Supreme Leader’s personality cult, concentration of all powers in one person, cloak-and-dagger games played out by his coterie, their cynical double-speak and contempt for an ordinary worker, the AAP proved no different from the mainstream parties it sought to replace. A hostile media did hype up the ‘sheesh mahal’ of the CM, but it could do so because this was so much at odds with the Gandhian claims of the leadership,” Yadav, one of the founding members of the AAP who was expelled in 2015, wrote in the column.

Yogendra Yadav, one of the founding members of the AAP, was expelled in 2015 along with Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

Concerns over BJP’s victory

Yadav warned that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in Delhi could further strengthen its political dominance and undermine democratic institutions. He highlighted the BJP’s alleged interference in Delhi’s governance through the Lieutenant Governor and its use of central agencies against AAP leaders. He also raised concerns over the rise of majoritarian politics, stating that the victory of BJP leaders such as Kapil Mishra could worsen the vulnerability of Delhi’s Muslim community.

AAP’s governance and shortcomings

While acknowledging AAP’s contributions, such as improvements in public education and welfare schemes like free electricity and bus rides for women, Yadav argued that its governance model fell short in areas like urban infrastructure, pollution control, and rural development. He also criticised the party’s response to the Delhi riots and its alleged attempts to outdo the BJP’s Hindutva politics.

The BJP stormed back to power in Delhi after a 27-year gap, winning 48 of the 70 assembly seats and leaving 22 for the AAP, massively down from its 2020 election tally of 62. Congress, an ally of the AAP under the INDIA bloc, fought the Delhi poll 2025 separately and failed to win even a single seat.