Jan Suraj Party chief and election strategist Prashant Kishore reacted to the Aam Aadmi Party's defeat in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections. He said that after getting bail in the liquor policy case, Arvind Kejriwal's resignation as the Chief Minister was a big mistake, which the party had to pay a heavy price.
Prashant Kishore insisted that Kejriwal's changing political decisions in recent years, such as his decision to join India block, but the plan to contest the Delhi elections alone contributed to the AAP's poor performance.
The first reason for AAP's big defeat in Delhi was an anti -incumbency wave of 10 years. Second, and perhaps a major mistake of AAP was Arvind Kejriwal's resignation. When he was arrested in the liquor policy case, he should have left the post. However, resigning after getting bail and appointing someone else as Chief Minister proved to be a big strategic mistake.
After 27 years of exile, the BJP made a spectacular comeback to Delhi by securing 48 seats out of 70 assembly seats in the assembly elections. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party which won 62 in 2020 and 67 assembly constituencies in 2015 decreased to 22 seats. The Congress did not get any seat in the capital for the third consecutive time.
Prashant Kishore also highlighted Kejriwal's inconsistent political decisions as the main reason for the disillusionment of voters. He said that the decision to join the India alliance and then exit it also damaged their credibility. Apart from this, his rule has been weak in recent years.
The Jan Suraj chief pointed to the problems of people living in low -lying areas, especially during the last monsoon, as another important factor behind AAP's election defeat. He said that the difficulties tolerated by the people, especially people living in slums, exposed the flaws of the administration and weakened Kejriwal's rule model.
However, he suggested that it could be an opportunity for Kejriwal to focus beyond Delhi. Prashant Kishore said, there are two aspects of the situation. Although it will be very difficult for AAP to gain political dominance in Delhi, Kejriwal is now free from governance duties. He can take advantage of the party's presence in other states like Gujarat this time, where AAP performed well in the last elections.
