AAP’s Stronghold Falls: BJP Wins Big, Kejriwal Among Top Leaders Defeated

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 8th Feb. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made a resounding comeback in the Delhi Assembly elections, increasing its tally by nearly 40 seats and delivering a crushing defeat to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Among those who lost their seats are five key leaders of AAP, including its national convener Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and senior minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.

AAP Leaders Who Lost

• Arvind Kejriwal: The AAP chief, who rose to power after the 2011 anti-corruption movement, suffered a major setback, losing the New Delhi seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma. Kejriwal, who led AAP to sweeping victories in 2015 and 2020, resigned as Chief Minister last year following his arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case. He had vowed to return only if the “people’s court” ruled in his favor, but the verdict has gone against him.
• Manish Sisodia: Once considered Kejriwal’s most trusted aide, the former Deputy Chief Minister lost to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura. A three-time MLA from Patparganj, Sisodia switched constituencies for this election but failed to retain the seat. He was arrested in 2023 in connection with the liquor policy case and was recently granted bail after spending over a year in jail.
• Saurabh Bharadwaj: The senior AAP leader and Delhi minister for home, power, and water supply, faced an unexpected loss in Greater Kailash, a seat he had won three times since 2013. BJP’s Shikha Roy defeated him in what was earlier considered a stronghold for AAP.
• Durgesh Pathak: A key strategist within AAP and a member of its political affairs committee, Pathak lost to BJP’s Umang Bajaj in Rajinder Nagar. He had won the seat in a 2022 by-election but was unable to hold on this time.
• Avadh Ojha: The IAS coach-turned-politician, who gained popularity through his social media presence, lost from the Patparganj seat to BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi by over 28,000 votes. The seat was previously held by Manish Sisodia for three consecutive terms before he shifted to Jangpura.

With AAP’s top leadership facing electoral setbacks, the BJP’s landslide victory marks a major shift in Delhi’s political landscape, ending Kejriwal’s decade-long dominance in the capital.