Free for all

The Delhi elections will be a referendum on freebie politics, and the stakes have never been higher for the Aam Aadmi Party

- PRATUL SHARMA

On February 5, the battle for Delhi will be decided based on the many welfare schemes and freebies promised by the main players. Over the past 12 years, the people of Delhi have shown a clear inclination towards the party that promises and delivers tangible benefits.

In 2013, Arvind Kejriwal's first stint as chief minister lasted only 49 days, but in that time he gave the voters subsidised electricity. In 2015, he repeated the promise—electricity bills at 50 per cent lower rate and free water—to win 67 of 70 seats, the best performance by a political party in Delhi.

By 2020, the political climate in Delhi was charged. The BJP had again swept the seven Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections and had fulfilled its ideological promise of bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Refusing to be drawn into the polarising debate, Kejriwal stayed silent and focused on deliverables. This time, the AAP promised Delhi-ites free electricity; the party won 62 seats.

Now, with the 2025 campaign in full swing, the stakes are higher than ever for the AAP. The BJP's dominance in the Lok Sabha elections and the AAP's troubled relationship with INDIA bloc ally Congress have compounded its challenges. More importantly, Kejriwal, along with his cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, has spent months in jail on corruption charges, which created a leadership vacuum and a credibility crisis.

Learning from its Punjab campaign, where the promise of ₹1,000 a month for women voters was a game-changer, Kejriwal upped the ante by pledging ₹2,100 a month for women in Delhi.

The AAP has also promised 200 units of free power for tenants, through separate meters, aiming to expand its voter base. The free power promise remains a key point in Delhi as the AAP claims it was the first party in the country to promise this.