BROOM WITHOUT VROOM

Corruption allegations shred the AAP's anti-corruption sails

- SHUBHANGI SHAH

The mood was different in December 2013. Arvind Kejriwal, then a political rookie, took oath as Delhi's youngest chief minister after a stunning victory over Sheila Dikshit and her Congress. "This feels like a miracle," he declared at Ramlila Maidan, where anti-corruption protests led by Anna Hazare gave birth to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and brought Kejriwal to the national stage. Thousands of supporters filled the maidan, their enthusiasm undampened by Kejriwal's offbeat rendition of "Insaan ka insaan se ho bhaichara, yehi paigham hamara", the Manna Dey song about peace and brotherhood. The media drew parallels between the AAP's rise and the plot of Anil Kapoor's 2001 film Nayak.

It is a starkly different mood now. The AAP has suffered a major defeat in the assembly polls, with most of its top leaders including Kejriwal and his deputy, Manish Sisodia-losing on their home turf. Serious questions have been raised about the future of a party that, lacking a clear ideological framework, rose on the back of an anti-corruption movement and consolidated through civic and welfare policies, even as it increasingly leaned into populism and agitational politics.

As freebies rained in the run-up to the polls, voters across constituencies cited basic amenities—lack of drinkable water, inadequate sanitation, mounting garbage dumps and electricity bills as key issues. "This time, voters are looking for change," said Mahesh, a 46-yearold shopkeeper in East Delhi's Kalyanpuri.