Aam Aadmi Party, Gujarat
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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, ) is a political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (; born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national conve ...
and his then-companions, following the
2011 Indian anti-corruption movement The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic politic ...
against then government of
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
. The AAP is currently the
governing party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...
in the
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
of
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. On 10 April 2023, the AAP was officially granted the status of
national party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...
by the ECI. The party's election symbol is a
broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...
. The party was formerly part of the coalition
INDIA India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, but left it in 2025. The party came into existence following a difference of opinion between Kejriwal and activist
Anna Hazare Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. He was awarded the Padma Bhu ...
regarding the incorporation of electoral politics into the popular
2011 Indian anti-corruption movement The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic politic ...
, which had been demanding a
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investig ...
since 2011. Hazare preferred the movement should remain politically unaligned, whereas Kejriwal felt the failure of the agitation route necessitated changes in the government's representation itself. On 3 December 2015, the Jan Lokpal Bill was passed by the AAP government with a majority in the Delhi legislative assembly. Making its electoral debut in the
2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 December 2013, with the result announced on 8 December resulting in formation of the Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party won a plurality, closely followed by Aa ...
, the AAP emerged as the second-largest party and managed to form the government with support from INC members of the assembly. Kejriwal became the
Chief Minister of Delhi The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the head of government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. According to the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is the National Capital Territory of Delhi's ''de ...
, but his government resigned 49 days after he could not pass the
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investig ...
in the assembly, because of the lack of support from the INC. After the President's rule in Delhi, in the following 2015 elections, the AAP won 67 of the 70 seats in the assembly and Kejriwal was again sworn in as the
Chief Minister of Delhi The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the head of government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. According to the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is the National Capital Territory of Delhi's ''de ...
. In the subsequent
2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Delhi on 8 February 2020 to elect 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Voters turnout was recorded at 62.82%, a decline of 4.65% from the previous 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, a ...
, AAP was re-elected as the governing party after winning 62 seats out of 70. The party lost the
2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election The 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections were held in Delhi on 5 February 2025 to elect all 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes and declaration of results took place on 8 February 2025. The Bharatiya Janata ...
, winning only 22 seats, a sharp decline from the 62 it won in the previous election. Kejriwal and several other notable leaders lost their seats. Outside Delhi, the AAP cemented its popularity when it emerged as the principal opposition party in the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election after securing 20 seats. Later, in the subsequent
2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Elections in Punjab, India, Punjab on 2022 elections in India, 20 February 2022 to elect the List of constituencies of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, 117 members of the Sixteenth Punjab Legislative ...
, AAP was elected as the main governing party after winning 92 seats. Following this, its member
Bhagwant Mann Bhagwant Singh Mann (born 17 October 1973), better known by his stage name "Jugnu", is an Indian politician, social worker, former comedian, singer and actor who is currently serving as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab since 2022. He represen ...
was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab. In December 2022, the party emerged as the third front in the
politics of Gujarat The Indian state of Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of former State of Bombay. The Mahagujarat movement was instrumental in the formation of a separate state, Gujarat. Politics in Gujarat has mostly been dominated by the ...
after
2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Elections in Gujarat, Gujarat from 2022 elections in India, 1 to 5 December 2022 in two phases, to elect List of constituencies of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, 182 members of 15th Gujarat Assembl ...
. It secured 12.92% of the votes polled and five seats in the Assembly. Apart from Gujarat, AAP is also accorded the status of state party in
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
. In the
2024 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir from 2024 elections in India, 18 September to 1 October 2024 in 3 phases to elect List of constituencies of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative A ...
, AAP opened its account in
Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) Jammu and Kashmir ( J&K) is a region administered by India as a union territory and consists of the southern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan sin ...
by winning of Mehraj Malik of AAP from Doda Assembly constituency seat in Jammu region by a margin of 4538 votes, making him the first AAP MLA of
Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) Jammu and Kashmir ( J&K) is a region administered by India as a union territory and consists of the southern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan sin ...
.


History


Formation

Massive anti-corruption protests and strikes in 2011 were initiated by
Anna Hazare Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. He was awarded the Padma Bhu ...
in response to exposure of unprecedented financial scams and corruption by the erstwhile UPA government. The aim was to press the government to enact a strong and effective Lokpal (Federal
Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
) through a
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investig ...
. Hazare was supported by a clutch of activists and professionals which became popularly known as Team Anna. Team Anna also included a civil-servant turned activist
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (; born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national conve ...
. Hazare had wanted to keep the movement politically neutral but Kejriwal considered that direct involvement in politics was necessary because attempts to obtain progress regarding the Jan Lokpal Bill through talks with existing political parties had, in his opinion, achieved nothing. A survey conducted on a Facebook page that purported to be operated by India Against Corruption and other social networking services had indicated that there was wide support for politicisation. Hazare rejected the poll, saying "elections require huge funds, which will be tough for activists to organise without compromising on their values". He also said it would be difficult to ensure that candidates are not corrupted once elected. Hazare and Kejriwal agreed on 19 September 2012 that their differences regarding a role in politics were irreconcilable. Kejriwal had support from some anti-corruption movement activists, such as
Prashant Bhushan Prashant Bhushan (born 15 October 1956) is an Indian author and a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. He was a member of the faction of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement known as Team Anna which supported Anna Ha ...
and Shanti Bhushan, but was opposed by others such as
Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is a former tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from 28 May 2016 to 16 Februa ...
and
Santosh Hegde Nitte Santosh Hegde (born 16 June 1940) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, former Solicitor General of India and was Lokayukta (ombudsman) for Karnataka State of India from 2006 to 2011. Early life Santosh Hegde was born in a T ...
. On 2 October, Kejriwal announced that he was forming a political party and that he intended the formal launch to be on 26 November, coinciding with the anniversary of India's adoption of its Constitution in 1949. The party's name reflects the phrase '' Aam Aadmi'' (), whose interests Kejriwal proposed to represent. A party constitution was adopted on 24 November 2012, when a National Council comprising 320 people and a National Executive of 23 were also formed. Both the Council and the Executive were expected to have more members in due course, with the intention being that all districts and all classes of people would have a voice. Various committees were proposed to be formed to draft proposals for adoption by the party in a process that was expected to take several months. Although one aim was to limit nepotism, there were complaints at this initial meeting that the selection of people invited to attend was itself an example of such practices. The party was formally launched in Delhi on 26 November and in March 2013, it was registered as a political party by the
Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
.


Funding

On 26 November 2012, the formal launch day of the AAP, former law minister Shanti Bhushan donated to the party. Prashant Bhushan, his son, was a member of the party's National Executive Committee. The party raised by November 2013 and received in 2015 assembly polls.


Initial period

On 18 May 2013, a group of
Indian Americans Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...
from 20 different cities in the US held a convention in Chicago and extended support to the AAP. The convention was attended by two AAP leaders,
Kumar Vishwas Kumar Vishwas (born Vishwas Kumar Sharma; 10 February 1970) is an Indian Hindi poet, a lecturer and former politician. He was one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a former member of its National Executive. Life and car ...
and
Yogendra Yadav Yogendra Yadav (born 5 September 1963) is an Indian activist, Psephology, psephologist and politician whose primary interests are in the political and social sciences. He was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies ...
, and Kejriwal addressed it via video conferencing.
Aruna Roy Aruna Roy (née Jayaram, born 26 may 1946) is an Indian social activist, professor, union organiser and retired IAS officer. She was the president of the National Federation of Indian Women and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. ...
and
Medha Patkar Medha Patkar (born 1 December 1954) is an Indian Social activist working on social issues for tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India. She is an alumna of TISS, a premier institute of social science research in ...
, who had differences with Kejriwal on certain issues, supported him after his 15-day fast against inflated electricity bills. On 22 March 2014, the
Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...
party of Delhi announced it would merge with the Aam Aadmi Party, citing Kejriwal's tenure as Chief Minister of Delhi. Two of the founders of the party, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, left the Aam Aadmi Party and formed Swaraj Abhiyan.


Protests

On 23 March 2013, Kejriwal began an indefinite fast in an attempt to mobilise people against inflated power and electricity bills at a house in Sundar Nagri, a low-income group resettlement colony in North-East Delhi. During the protest, he urged Delhi citizens not to pay "inflated" water and electricity bills. The AAP also demanded an audit of power and electricity supply in Delhi by the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (ISO: ''Bhārata kē Niyaṁtraka ēvaṁ Mahālēkhāparīkṣaka'') is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to au ...
, something that was also supported by civil society groups like the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM). The AAP claimed that the protest gathered support from people in Delhi on a single day and more than people up to 28 March 2013. Anna Hazare urged Kejriwal to end the fast on 29 March and he did so on 6 April. On 10 June 2013, Kejriwal supported agitation by Delhi auto rickshaw drivers, who were protesting the Delhi government's ban on advertisements on auto rickshaws. Kejriwal claimed the government's ban was because the drivers supported his party and carried AAP's advertisements on their vehicles. He said that the AAP would put 10,000 advertisements on auto rickshaws as a protest. In retrospect, after Kejriwal had been elected and then resigned his position, a union representing the drivers expressed dissatisfaction, saying: "Arvind Kejriwal, who had won the elections because of the support of the auto drivers, has betrayed them by not fulfilling any of the promises made before the elections". On 22 April 2015, the AAP organised a rally in Delhi against a land acquisition bill.


Ideology

Though the party doesn't follow any specific ideology , at the time of formation, the AAP said that the promise of equality and justice that forms a part of the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...
and of its preamble has not been fulfilled and that the
Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
has replaced enslavement to an oppressive foreign power with that to a political elite. It claimed that the common people of India remain unheard and unseen except when it suits politicians. The AAP's goal is to reverse the way that government accountability operates, and the party takes an interpretation of the Gandhian socialist concept of
swaraj Swarāj (, IAST: , ) can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". The term was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati and later on by Mahatma Gandhi, but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept of Indian ...
as a tenet. It believes that through ''swaraj'', the government will be directly accountable to the people instead of higher officials. The ''swaraj'' model lays stress on self-governance, community building, and decentralization. Kejriwal has stated that the AAP refuses to be guided by ideologies and that they are entering politics to change the system, saying, "We are common men. If we find our solution in the left, we are happy to borrow it from there. If we find our solution in the right, we are happy to borrow it from there." Kejriwal has put forward 3 pillars of Aam Aadmi Party's core ideology: ''staunch patriotism'', ''staunch honesty'' and ''humanity.'' The party advocates scrapping
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code Section 377 is a British colonial Penal Code provision that criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. As per a Supreme Court of I ...
and legalizing both homosexuality and
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
. The party is also regarded as being populist, and
centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
.


Organisation

The party leadership consists of the following bodies: *National Convener: Arvind Kejriwal *National Secretary: Pankaj Gupta *National Treasurer: Narain Dass Gupta


Political Affairs Committee

Political Affairs Committee is the highest decision-making body of the party. The current member of the PAC are
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (; born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national conve ...
,
Manish Sisodia Manish Sisodia (born 5 January 1972) is an Indian politician, journalist and former social activist who served as the first Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi from 2015 to 2023. He represented the Patparganj Assembly constituency, Patparganj const ...
, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai, Atishi, Imran Hussain,
Durgesh Pathak Durgesh Pathak is an Indian politician and was Member of Legislative Assembly in Delhi. He is a senior member of the Aam Aadmi Party and Political Affairs Committee (the highest decision-making body) and National Executive In-charge of the pa ...
, Raghav Chadha and Rakhi Bidlan. Pankaj Kr Gupta (National Secretary) and Narain Dass Gupta (National Treasurer) are the ex officio members of the PAC.


National Executive Committee

The party's National Executive Committee had 34 members in 2022.


State Leadership

The AAP has state wings in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh,
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram,
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.


Election results


General election results


State Assembly election results


Municipal Corporation election results


2013 Delhi Assembly election

The 2013 Delhi state assembly elections were the party's first electoral contest. The Election Commission approved the symbol of a broom for use by the AAP in that campaign. The party said that its candidates were honest and had been screened for potential criminal backgrounds. It published its central manifesto on 20 November 2013, promising to implement the Jan Lokpal Bill within 15 days of coming to power. In November 2013, a sting operation conducted by Media Sarkar alleged that several leaders of the AAP, including Kumar Vishwas and
Shazia Ilmi Shazia Ilmi (born 2 April 1970) is an Indian politician and the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party since July 2021. Before joining politics, Ilmi was a television journalist and anchor at Star News, where she led a media camp ...
, had agreed to extend their support to some people seeking assistance with land deals and other financial arrangements in return for donations in cash to the AAP. Ilmi offered to withdraw her candidature as a result, but the party refused to accept her offer, describing the footage as fabricated and a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The Election Commission ordered an inquiry regarding the legitimacy of the video. The AAP emerged as the second-largest party in Delhi, winning 28 of the 70 Assembly seats; the Bharatiya Janata Party, as the largest party, won 31, while its ally
Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...
, won 1; Indian National Congress won 8, and two were won by others. On 28 December 2013, the AAP formed a minority government in the hung Assembly, with what Sheila Dikshit describes as "not unconditional" support from Indian National Congress. Kejriwal became the second-youngest
Chief Minister of Delhi The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the head of government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. According to the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is the National Capital Territory of Delhi's ''de ...
. As a result of the Delhi elections, the AAP became a recognised state party in Delhi.


2014 general election

The AAP fielded 434 candidates in the
2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
, in which it did not expect to do well. It recognised that its support was based primarily in urban areas and that different strategies might be required for different regions of the country. The party pointed out that its funding was limited and that there were too many demands for local visits from Kejriwal. The intention was to field candidates in large numbers to maximise the likelihood of recognition as a national party by the Election Commission. The outcome was that four AAP candidates won, all from
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. Consequently, the AAP became a recognised state party in Punjab. The party obtained 2% of all votes cast nationwide and 414 of its candidates forfeited their deposit by failing to secure one-sixth of the vote in their constituencies. Although the party secured 32.9 per cent of the votes in Delhi, it failed to win any seats there. AAP convenor, Arvind Kejriwal fought from
Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
against BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
, but lost by a margin of 371,784 (20.30%) votes and came second ahead of BSP, Congress, SP. Immediately after the elections, Shazia Ilmi (PAC member) resigned from the party. The National Executive member Yogendra Yadav in a letter to his party members criticised Kejriwal's style of leadership. After the National Executive meeting on 8 June, the party and Kejriwal acknowledged these differences and announced the launch of "Mission Vistar" (Mission Expand), to include more people in local as well as national decision making.


2015 Delhi Assembly election

The Delhi state assembly elections for the
Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi The Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi was constituted on 14th Feb 2015 after the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections were concluded earlier that month. Second Kejriwal ministry was the cabinet during the term of 6th Delhi Assembly. Hi ...
were held on 7 February 2015, as declared by the Election Commission of India. The Aam Aadmi Party scored a landslide victory by winning a majority of 67 of the 70 seats. The BJP was able to win 3 seats and the Congress party saw all its candidates lose. Kejriwal became the Chief Minister for the second time. The AAP had started campaigning in Delhi in November 2014 and declared candidates for all 70 seats. During the campaign, Kejriwal claimed that the BJP had been trying to bribe AAP volunteers. He asked Delhi voters to not deny the bribes offered to them. He suggested that voters should accept the bribe from others and yet vote for AAP through the secret ballot in the election. The situation caused the Election Commission of India to instruct Kejriwal to desist from breaking laws governing the model code of conduct for elections in India, but the Delhi court then allowed Kejriwal to challenge this. The President's Rule was subsequently rescinded and Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi with six cabinet ministers (
Manish Sisodia Manish Sisodia (born 5 January 1972) is an Indian politician, journalist and former social activist who served as the first Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi from 2015 to 2023. He represented the Patparganj Assembly constituency, Patparganj const ...
, Asim Ahmed Khan, Sandeep Kumar, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai, and Jitender Singh Tomar). Major differences surfaced within the party leadership soon after its victory. It created deep fissures between the founding members who had together championed the anti-corruption movement. Problems emerged in February 2015 when Yogendra Yadav and Prashanth Bhushan wrote a joint letter to the National Executive, highlighting Kejriwal's tendency to unilateral decision-making, which they alleged had compromised the party's core principle of Swaraj. After continued allegations, counter-allegations and several failed attempts at reconciliation between the two sides, Yadav and Bhushan were first removed from the PAC and later from the National Executive after the party's National Council passed a resolution to expel them for their alleged anti-party activities. Party leaders refuted accusations made by Yadav and Bhushan at the meeting that the party was murdering democracy and resorting to intimidation. In April 2015, Yadav, Bhushan, Anand Kumar, and Ajit Jha were removed from the party.


2017 State Assembly elections

For the first time, the AAP contested the
2017 Goa Legislative Assembly election The 2017 Goa Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 February 2017 to elect the 40 members of the Seventh Goa Legislative Assembly, as the term of Sixth Legislative Assembly ended on 18 March 2017. VVPAT-fitted EVMs was used in entire Goa ...
and 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. In Goa the AAP could not win any seat, and 38 out of 39 candidates failed to save their security deposits. For the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, the Lok Insaaf Party allied with the AAP. This alliance was called the ''AAP Alliance'' and was represented on news channels as ''AAP+''. It won 22 seats in total, two of which were won by the Lok Insaaf Party and the other twenty by the AAP.


2019 general election

Unlike the
2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
, the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party decided to contest elections on limited seats of some of the states and all the seats in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
,
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
, and
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. In the state of
Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
, the AAP formed an alliance with
Dushyant Chautala Dushyant Singh Chautala (born 3 April 1988) is an Indian politician who served as the 6th Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana from 2019 to 2024. He represented the Uchana Kalan constituency in Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2019 until 2024 ...
's
Jannayak Janata Party The Jannayak Janta Party, abbreviated as, JJP is an Indian state-level political party in Haryana, India. JJP is a recognized state political party. JJP was founded on 9 December 2018 by Dushyant Chautala with the ideology of Devi Lal, who ser ...
to contest three Lok Sabha constituencies. The PAC also decided to support and campaign for CPI (M) in
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. The party also fielded its first
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
candidate from
Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
in
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. The AAP won only 1 constituency of
Sangrur Sangrur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District. Geography Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet). Climate Health services City has PGIM ...
.


2020 Delhi Assembly election

Voting for the Delhi Assembly elections took place on 8 February 2020, following vehement campaigns run by the major political parties contesting the election. The counting of votes and subsequent announcement of results happened on 11 February. The Aam Aadmi Party retained the government as the party won 62 out of 70 seats.
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (; born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national conve ...
became the
Chief Minister of Delhi The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the head of government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. According to the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is the National Capital Territory of Delhi's ''de ...
for the third consecutive time. The party's vote share was 53.5%, according to the results.


2021 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election

The AAP contested in
2021 Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election The elections for the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation were held on 24 December 2021. 203 candidates campaigned for 35 seats in the Chandigarh election. Election results were declared on 27 December 2021. Conte ...
for the first time, won 14 seats and became the single largest party in the council of total 35 elected seats. Sitting mayor Ravi Kant Sharma from BJP lost his seat to AAP candidate Damanpreet Singh. In ward number 21, former mayor and BJP candidate Davesh Moudgil was defeated by AAP's Jasbir.


2022 Punjab Assembly election

In January 2021, Arvind Kejriwal announced that AAP would be contesting six state elections in 2022. The six states were
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
,
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
,
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
, and
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. The party won a landslide victory in
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
, defeating the incumbent Congress government of
Charanjit Singh Channi Charanjit Singh Channi (born 15 March 1963) is an Indian politician who served as the 16th Chief minister (India), Chief Minister of Punjab, India, Punjab. He is a member of the Indian National Congress. He is serving as a Member of Parliament ...
, and state party convener
Bhagwant Mann Bhagwant Singh Mann (born 17 October 1973), better known by his stage name "Jugnu", is an Indian politician, social worker, former comedian, singer and actor who is currently serving as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab since 2022. He represen ...
was sworn in as the new CM. The party also gained two seats in
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
and five seats in
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
.


2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, which was in power for the previous ten years, lost the election, with several prominent leaders and cabinet ministers including national convener
Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (; born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national conve ...
,
Manish Sisodia Manish Sisodia (born 5 January 1972) is an Indian politician, journalist and former social activist who served as the first Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi from 2015 to 2023. He represented the Patparganj Assembly constituency, Patparganj const ...
, Satyendra Kumar Jain,
Somnath Bharti Somnath Bharti (born 10 May 1974) is an Indian politician and lawyer. As a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Bharti served as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Delhi from Malviya Nagar constituency. He has previously served as minister o ...
,
Saurabh Bhardwaj Saurabh Bharadwaj is an Indian politician from the Aam Aadmi Party, who represented Greater Kailash constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, who was formerly the Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and Minister of Health, Urban Developmen ...
, Rakhi Birla, and
Durgesh Pathak Durgesh Pathak is an Indian politician and was Member of Legislative Assembly in Delhi. He is a senior member of the Aam Aadmi Party and Political Affairs Committee (the highest decision-making body) and National Executive In-charge of the pa ...
losing their seats. AAP managed to win only 22 seats, which was the party's worst performance in Delhi to date. It's vote share plummeted to 43.57%. The BJP formed the government with 48 seats.


List of state/ territory governments from AAP


NCT of Delhi


Punjab


List of Leaders of Opposition


Leaders of Opposition


Deputy Leaders of Opposition


List of MPs from AAP


Rajya Sabha


Leader of AAP in Rajya Sabha


Lok Sabha


Leader of AAP in Lok Sabha


Further reading

* '' An Insignificant Man'' is a 2017 Hindi/English Indian socio-political documentary co-produced and directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla and also co-produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi. The documentary is about the rise of
anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measur ...
protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party. *


See also

*
AAP Delhi Aap or AAP may refer to: Aerospace * Apollo Applications Program, NASA's vision for long-range space exploration based on technologies developed for Project Apollo Aviation * Aappilattoq Heliport (Avannaata) in Aappilattoq, Greenland * Agrupaci ...
* AAP Punjab *
Swaraj (book) ''Swaraj'' is a 2012 book by the Indian social activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal, who credits several people with writing it. Published in several languages, including English, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi and Malayalam, the book q ...
*
List of political parties in India India has a multi-party system. The Election Commission of India (ECI) grants recognition to national-level and state-level political parties based on objective criteria. A recognised political party enjoys privileges such as a reserved party ...


Notes


References


Sources

*


External links

*
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
at Elections.in {{Indian political parties Aam Aadmi Party 2012 establishments in India Centrist parties in India Nationalist parties in India National political parties in India Political parties established in 2012 Populist parties Socialist parties in India Member parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance