Refusal To Look Beyond Kejriwal Led To AAP Downfall

The primary reason for the Aam Aadmi Party losing power in the national capital is that instead of making the campaign issue based, its leadership decided to make the election Arvind Kejriwal centric.

- Pankaj Vohra

The move boomeranged and the party fared poorly in the polls and in the process, two of its topmost leaders, Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia have lost their respective battles against formidable BJP nominees.

Soon after being released on bail from the Tihar Jail, Kejriwal had announced that the people of Delhi would determine whether he was guilty of the charges and if he had committed any wrong. He should have said that the courts would decide the case, but he was over keen to bring himself into the picture.

On Saturday, the people decided and handed over a defeat, from which his entire party may find it extremely difficult to recover, and the loss could have ramifications for his own future and that of the party in states like Punjab.

Many of his well-wishers had been surprised when at every level Kejriwal put himself and his "honesty" ahead of the overall party agenda. The problem his government faced was because of its clash with the Centre, which under the Constitution has overriding powers and through the Lt Governor or. can nullify any act of the elected representatives. The issue was that the Delhi Assembly was merely a debating chamber and was completely dependent on the Centre. Cordiality would have helped in getting some tasks accomplished, but there was complete breakdown of relations at every level.