Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal suffered a shocking defeat from the New Delhi assembly seat in the 2025 elections. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parvesh Verma secured the seat, dealing a major setback to the ruling AAP.
Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit finished a distant third. The AAP’s defeat is seen as a direct fallout of the alleged liquor excise policy scam, which severely dented its chances of retaining power. The BJP capitalized on corruption allegations, intensifying its attack on the Kejriwal-led party.
Apart from Kejriwal, other AAP heavyweights, including Manish Sisodia, also lost their respective seats. However, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi managed to retain the Kalkaji seat.
The AAP saw a drastic decline in its seat tally, dropping from 62 in 2020 to just 23 in 2025—a loss of 39 seats. Meanwhile, the BJP is poised for a historic comeback in Delhi after 27 years, leading in 47 seats as per the latest Election Commission trends. The Congress failed to win a single seat for the third consecutive time.
Social activist Anna Hazare also took a dig at Kejriwal, blaming the party’s downfall on its alleged corruption and deviation from its original values. “The AAP drowned due to the liquor policy and its focus on money, failing to understand its duty to serve people selflessly. The (AAP’s) image was tarnished. People saw he (Arvind Kejriwal) talks about clean character and then about liquor,” Hazare, who spearheaded the 2011 anti-corruption movement, told reporters.
The AAP was founded in 2012 following the anti-corruption movement led by Hazare, with Kejriwal as one of its key faces. However, Hazare criticized AAP for losing its way, stating, “AAP lost because it failed to serve people selflessly and took the wrong path. Money took the front seat, which damaged its image and led to its defeat.”
With the BJP set to form the next government in Delhi, the political landscape of the national capital has undergone a massive transformation.