In April 2024, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, former health minister Satyendar Jain, communications in-charge Vijay Nair and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were in jail. The party’s toughest electoral battle was just 10 months away. Saturday’s results indicate the missing leadership had a more significant impact on the party than it let on. While Jain was arrested in an alleged money laundering case, the rest were behind bars in the excise policy case being probed by the ED and CBI. All of them were released on bail between August and October. Senior party leaders said that the stints in jail, so close to the elections, was among the key reasons for the AAP being unable to mount the kind of campaign it did in 2015 and 2020. “While the leaders were in jail, the party was in limbo. This also led to disgruntlement among councillors, who were frustrated because the MCD functioning had collapsed under the AAP and no work was being done. There was no one to calm the tempers. This had an impact on how elections were contested months down the line,” a senior leader said. Apart from targeting the AAP leadership over the liquor policy, the other charge that the BJP repeatedly made against the party leadership was a more personal one. The Civil Lines house where former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lived, allegedly renovated at a cost of nearly Rs 40 crore and called “Sheesh Mahal” by the BJP, was a constant in the speeches of all BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The MCD win, a double-edged sword Perhaps the biggest letdown for the people of Delhi was the AAP’s performance in the municipal corporation. The AAP won in 2022, promising a cleaner city with world-class roads. It fell short on both accounts. The MCD House was and remains in limbo. “The MCD victory hurt us instead of helping us. With the L-G and the BJP creating hurdles, the Standing Committee, which has all financial powers, was never formed and projects did not take off,” said a leader. Another AAP insider said, “There were rumblings within, and many councillors wanted to join the BJP. But, the BJP did not make any move except to ensure work was stalled. Not a single fruitful discussion took place in the House, and that hurt the AAP more than anticipated.” During an Idea Exchange at The Indian Express office in November, when the then CM Atishi was asked about the AAP’s lacklustre performance in running the MCD, she said, “The MCD that we inherited was definitely in a state of crisis. It was bankrupt. But, I strongly disagree that it’s worse. If you remember during the BJP years, every three months there would be a sanitation workers’ strike because they were not getting paid. For the first time in 20-25 years, their sanitation workers are getting paid on the first of every month. Yes, of course, there are challenges. But the people have elected us for a five-year tenure and we would be best judged at the end of the five years.” Erratic water supply and overflowing sewers that were never repaired because Rs 4,000 crore for the Delhi Jal Board was not released also hurt the party. Constant tussle An incessant tug-of-war with successive Lt Governors – the AAP saw three in its tenure – over issues ranging from government policy and procedure to control over the bureaucracy and implementation of government schemes meant the AAP’s tenure was rife with conflict. This issue was raised by everyone – from the local leadership of the BJP and the Congress to Prime Minister Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Eventually, AAP’s opposition was successful in communicating that the Delhi government’s habit of blaming lack of development and non-delivery of promises on obstructionism were “excuses”. For the BJP, Prime Minister Modi led from the front to take on the AAP over its “negative politics”, while the Congress relied on the achievements of its three successive governments in the Capital led by Sheila Dikshit. The Congress also posted pictures of infrastructural neglect from spots Gandhi visited to dent the AAP’s image.
