Delhi Elections 2025: Ten years and 3 terms later, who does Delhi’s aam auto driver support this election?

Over a decade later, as the AAP seeks its fourth consecutive term in power on February 5, its imprint on Delhi’s autos looks visibly dim and the aam auto driver’s torrid romance with the party is on the wane. Yet, there are many who continue to support Arvind Kejriwal, primarily because they are grateful for the welfare schemes he introduced.

The Indian Express travelled across Delhi to speak to auto drivers, many of whom were once committed AAP volunteers, to find answers.

Across the main entrance to the New Delhi Railway Station’s Ajmeri Gate side are rows of stationary yellow-green autos, some empty, others occupied by more than one driver on a break. Once a space dominated solely by the AAP, few sport any political message on their vehicle’s back panels today.

At a nearby auto stand — away from the bustle of their counterparts collecting payments or haggling with potential sawaris (passengers) — and on a break are Dinesh Kumar and Mustakim, neighbours from Jaitpur village who ply their autos between the South Delhi village and the station.

To a question on the half-peeled BJP sticker on his auto’s back panel, Dinesh says, “Gaadi jab chalti hai, koi bhi kuch bhi laga jaata hai (When the auto is on the move, people stick anything on it).”

Weighing in on who he thinks will win this election, Mustakim, who drove a “luxury car” for a South Delhi family before the pandemic, says, “I don’t know about the rest of Delhi, but in my area, the AAP may win.”

Calling AAP’s Badarpur candidate Ram Singh Netaji a “good man”, he adds, “Netaji is very popular. If he hears about a function in the constituency, he sends a water tanker to the host’s house. If he gets an invite to a girl’s wedding, he sends some kanyadaan (gift) to her house.”

The support of auto drivers has been significant for a party seeking to form the government in Delhi. Acknowledged as the backbone of the AAP’s support base, auto drivers are now being wooed by all three principal political players in the city ahead of the election. This, even as the number of registered autos in the city was capped at 1 lakh following a 2011 case over their share in Delhi’s vehicular population. At present, autos constitute 1.15% of the city’s over 8.1 crore registered vehicles.

On the monthly cash doles for auto drivers, from Rs 2,100 to Rs 3,000, being promised by the AAP and its biggest rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, Dinesh says, “Who fulfills promises like these? They are just following each other’s lead.”

He pointed out that all three parties have made similar promises in their manifestos, including insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh in case of accidental death, among others.

“We can’t trust the promises of the politicians. They fight (each other) during elections and become friends later. But we hope Kejriwal ji will keep his promise. During the pandemic, he gave Rs 5,000 twice to every auto driver,” he says.

Standing in front of a packed sabha (gathering), comprising predominantly of auto drivers, near the Burari Regional Transport Office (RTO) on February 7, 2014, after the formation of the first AAP government in December 2013, Kejriwal had asked, “Police walon ne paise lene kam kare ki nahin kare (have the police stopped demanding bribes)?”

Amid loud cheers, the audience had replied: “Bahut sudhaar hua hai… (There has been a lot of improvement)”.

In September 2024, 10 years later, Kejriwal returned to the same venue for an ‘Auto Samvad’. In his first public meeting since stepping down as Chief Minister and his release from jail, the AAP convenor reminded the auto drivers of all that the party had done for them: two installments of Rs 5,000 each given to them during Covid, waiver of several fees for services and over 500 new auto stands.

On what changed for them during the AAP’s 10-year rule in the capital, Mustakim says, “Corruption has decreased, but we still have to pay up to get our vehicle’s (annual) passing certificates from the (Burari transport) authority.”

On what they would consider while casting their vote, Dinesh says, “Good education and health facilities. Schools here are better now, but health facilities still need a lot of improvement.”

Eleven kilometres away, Seelampur resident Salauddin is walking towards his vehicle on Bela Road, near Kashmere Gate ISBT, for a quick lunch. For him, the choice is simple: “I don’t want the BJP to come to power. Either the AAP or the Congress will do. I have a small family. (Free) Water and electricity are enough for me.”

He talks about changes brought by AAP. “Corruption has declined since the AAP came to power. They shouldn’t have gone ahead with the liquor policy but the rest is fine. That (excise case) has dented (the image of) the AAP lot… par BJP khud doodh ki dhuli hai kya (is BJP without faults)?”

Saying that “simple people cannot stand in front of the powerful”, he insists, “The BJP is a powerful party. Yeh seedhe-saadhay aadmi hain (Kejriwal is a simple man). They got trapped in the liquor policy case, but they have worked a lot for the downtrodden.”

Sitting in another auto that has just pulled up on the main road below are Kanhaiya Thakur and Ramesh Singh. “Many things have changed in the past 10 years, except the condition of auto drivers like us,” Thakur says.

“The AAP has done only two things for us: no more fitness fee and no more (TSR) meter checking. The harassment by traffic police or transport officials continues. Over the past 10 years, I have paid challans of over Rs 64,000 to both departments”. Singh nods in agreement.

A resident of Wazirabad, an unauthorised colony, where he lives with his wife and two sons, Thakur says he managed to ensure that his children — “both graduates and working” — received a good education.

“My locality lacks basic amenities, receives contaminated water and has bad roads. I voted for the AAP in 2013 and 2015, but not in 2020. This time too, I will not vote for the AAP,” he says, adding that he was a Congress supporter before the AAP burst onto Delhi’s political landscape.\

“When the BJP and Congress were in power, we used to get drinking water from taps. But today, we have to buy potable water,” Thakur says, claiming he spends “hundreds (of rupees)” on water canisters daily.

Alleging that all the AAP gave Delhiites like him was “taken back” through fines by transport officials, Singh, who has been driving an auto for over 35 years, says, “I have a new challan of Rs 10,000.”

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP “our man”, Singh, a resident of West Delhi’s Hari Nagar, adds, “Modi ji has done a lot for the country. We need him for 15 more years.”

Eight km away, at the cluster bus depot located near the Burari RTO, a few metres from where Kejriwal held gratitude conventions for the auto drivers, Satpal, a resident of UP’s Mainpuri, sits in his parked auto. A resident of Delhi’s Mahipalpur, where he has been living with his wife and three children, a son and two daughters, for 18 years, he drives an auto that he rents for Rs 400 per day.

Satpal says things have changed “for auto drivers like him” since the AAP came to power. “He (Kejriwal) gave us financial assistance twice during the pandemic. The condition of (government) schools has improved. They have teachers now. During the Congress rule, we could not even stop or stand on the roadside. Traffic personnel would immediately remove us and also issue a challan,” he says.

In the auto parked next to his, Subhash Chand disagrees with him. “Is baar BJP ki baari (it’s BJP’s turn this time). These people (the AAP) say something but do something else,” he says.

His chief grouse, Chand says, is non-fulfillment of the AAP’s promise of doing away with Sections 66 and 192 A of the Motor Vehicles Act (pertaining to violations of permit conditions).

He says though he no longer supports AAP, he knows a reason why AAP symbols aren’t as visible as earlier. “I used to put AAP leaders’ pictures and flags on my vehicle earlier. Traffic and transport officials would pull auto drivers like me over and mock us, saying, ‘Ayiye, Kejriwal ji, ayiye (come Kejriwal ji)’. Then, they would issue a challan.”