Last month, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a surprising step by opting out of the upcoming mayoral elections in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). This decision, from a party once hailed as a bold political disruptor, raises concerns rather than confidence. The AAP’s official explanation—that it wants to avoid cross-voting and horse-trading—appears less like a tactical decision and more like a reflection of internal weakness.
Raja Iqbal Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Leader of Opposition in the MCD, was elected mayor after defeating Congress candidate Mandeep Singh by 125 votes. The BJP leader secured 133 votes, while his Congress rival managed just 8. Of the 142 total votes cast, one was declared invalid.
The move comes on the heels of a heavy defeat in the February 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, where AAP managed to win only 22 out of 70 seats, while the BJP secured 48. This loss has clearly rattled the party’s core. Key leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia lost their constituencies, and a wave of defections has further hollowed out the party’s local strength.
What is more striking is the complete silence from Arvind Kejriwal since the electoral setback. The same leader who framed the Delhi election as his agnipariksha has not addressed either the public or his party workers about the defeat.
There has, in fact, been no acknowledgement of the defeat, no introspection, and no roadmap shared for the future. Instead, Kejriwal’s political focus appears to have shifted to Punjab, while Delhi waits for answers.
The party has made some internal moves—appointing the Leader of Opposition and changing state unit chiefs—but these are organisational formalities, not public responses. They do not address the voters’ disillusionment or explain the party’s direction.
The decision to not fight the mayoral polls does not reflect political wisdom; it reflects political retreat. It signals that the party is unsure, unprepared, and unwilling to confront its decline in the capital. The party that once claimed to represent the choice of the people now seems adrift. This is not a moment of clever political calculation—it is a moment of visible crisis, and the party’s silence only amplifies it.
Real Issue: Ceding Ground to BJP
Just a few years ago, the AAP was in full attack mode, tearing into the BJP’s 15-year reign over Delhi’s municipal corporations. Corruption and mis-governance were the buzzwords, and the AAP rode that wave to a resounding victory in 2022, bagging 134 of the 250 MCD seats. It was a moment of vindication—a clean sweep that seemed to promise a new era in Delhi’s civic governance.
But politics, especially municipal politics, is rarely straightforward. What the AAP may have overlooked is a critical structural flaw: the anti-defection law doesn’t apply to municipal bodies. That loophole has now come back to bite. Today, thanks to a steady trickle of defections, the AAP’s tally has shrunk to 113 councillors, while the BJP—despite losing the election—has surged ahead to 117.
The balance of power has also tilted due to the composition of the mayoral electorate. In Delhi, the mayor isn’t elected by councillors alone. The vote includes 14 nominated MLAs—now largely aligned with the BJP—as well as all seven Lok Sabha MPs (held by the BJP) and the three Rajya Sabha MPs (held by AAP).
With the BJP now nominating 11 of the 14 MLAs, and with 12 MCD seats currently vacant, the overall house strength drops to 139. In this scenario, AAP’s chances are slim. Yet, instead of negotiating with Congress’s eight councillors or putting up a political fight, AAP has chosen to step aside—an odd retreat for a party that once championed grassroots empowerment.
In doing so, AAP risks not only ceding control of the MCD to a resurgent BJP but also alienating its base and forfeiting a crucial platform for civic-level influence in the capital.
AAP’s MCD Retreat Signals Weakness
MCD corporators may not be high-profile leaders, but they are vital to any party’s grassroots machinery. They connect with people, mobilise voters, and keep the organisation alive at the local level. For AAP, which has been struggling to control the narrative in Delhi, rebuilding from the booth to the ward and constituency level is essential. And corporators are central to that process.
AAP’s decision to step away from the mayoral election is a mistake. The 2025 Delhi Assembly election was not a clear endorsement of the BJP but a vote against AAP, driven by public frustration over corruption allegations and the Sheeshmahal controversy.
Yet, AAP still trailed the BJP by just three percentage points in vote share—proof that its support base has not vanished.
In Dalit and Muslim-majority wards, AAP performed well. Retaining this base requires visibility and action on the ground—something only the MCD platform can offer. By not contesting the mayoral post, AAP appears weak, not strategic.
Supporters and party workers will not view this as a political masterstroke. It looks like surrender, and in politics, perception matters. This decision risks deepening public disillusionment, and accelerating defections from an already fragile organisation.
To Be Or Not To Be The Opposition
At this crucial juncture, the AAP must confront an uncomfortable question: does it truly want to play the role of an opposition in Delhi? Arvind Kejriwal’s continued political detachment raises eyebrows—not only among critics but within the party’s own ranks.
It’s understandable that AAP is putting energy into governing Punjab, the only state where it holds power. But Punjab’s political machinery is run by its own leadership. The party’s victory there was not Kejriwal’s personal triumph—it was built on local ground-level work. Yet, Kejriwal’s overpowering presence continues to overshadow regional leaders, undercutting the autonomy they need to grow.
Contrast this with Mamata Banerjee’s relentless fight against the Left in Bengal, even when her party held just a single Lok Sabha seat—her own. She never left the streets. Kejriwal, on the other hand, vanished after AAP’s crushing defeat in the 2024 Delhi elections. One video message accepting defeat, and then silence. He didn’t even reach out to voters in his own New Delhi constituency.
In stark contrast, AAP leaders like Saurabh Bharadwaj and Somnath Bharti engaged with their voters, acknowledging losses with humility. That’s what leadership looks like.
Delhi’s opposition space is up for grabs, but Kejriwal seems reluctant to claim it. Legislative roles are being handled by Atishi, organisational tasks by Bharadwaj. But AAP’s political identity in Delhi is still centred around Kejriwal.
Avoiding public interactions, skipping MCD elections, and staying silent while the BJP dominates the narrative is not strategy—it’s political self-harm. AAP risks becoming irrelevant in its own backyard if its tallest leader continues to stay away from the battlefield.
This is also helping the BJP to create another narrative that Kejriwal can not stay out of power, with examples of his lavish security arrangements during Punjab visits.
Lack Of Cohesive Stand
To understand the challenges faced by AAP, it is important to recognise the party’s lack of a cohesive stance on various issues.
For instance, regarding the Pahalgam terror attack, AAP initially criticised the Union Government, highlighting alleged loopholes that led to the attack. However, after participating in the all-party meeting, the party shifted its position, expressing solidarity with the government. This contradiction is striking, as AAP has historically adhered to a consistent political line.
Similarly, in the case of the caste census, AAP’s position has been ambiguous—supporting the initiative on one hand, and simultaneously portraying it as a political strategy by the government to gain an advantage in the Bihar elections and divert attention from pressing issue of national security.
This shift from the party’s previously unified voice signals not only a growing lack of coherence within AAP but also a weakening of Kejriwal’s control over the party’s direction.
Way Forward
In politics, space is power. And in Delhi, AAP’s last remaining political turf—the MCD—was not just another civic body, it was the party’s last toehold after losing the Assembly and drawing a blank in the Lok Sabha. To cede even that ground without a fight is not just a misstep—it’s a surrender.
For Arvind Kejriwal, the road ahead is steep but clear. First, he must return to the people—not as a Chief Minister on the backfoot, but as a leader rebuilding trust brick by brick. That means showing up, listening, serving, and proving that AAP still stands for governance with a difference.
Second, the BJP’s strategy in Delhi has long included dismantling AAP from within. Kejriwal’s job now is to protect the core—to hold the party together at every level, from MLAs to booth workers.
But perhaps the most critical task is at the grassroots. Rebuilding an organisation from the booth level is not glamorous, but it is essential. The morale of AAP’s foot soldiers must be revived, and that won’t happen from behind closed doors. It requires a leader who is present, visible, and vocal—mobilising cadres around real issues, challenging the BJP’s narrative, and regaining lost momentum.
Kejriwal must lead the charge in public outreach. The fear of failure or another electoral setback cannot dictate strategy. In politics, retreating out of caution only signals weakness. For a party born out of a movement, silence and withdrawal are the surest ways to lose relevance.
Now is not the time for caution. It is the time for Kejriwal to get back to the trenches. Because the longer he stays away, the faster AAP fades from the very ground it once shook.
(The author, a columnist and research scholar, teaches journalism at St. Xavier’s College (autonomous), Kolkata. His handle on X is @sayantan_gh. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)