New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has completed 12 years of its establishment on November 26, 2024. This party, known for its rebellious role in Delhi politics, wrote a new chapter by coming to power in the national capital for the first time on December 28 , 2013.
It was on this day that party convener Arvind Kejriwal and his fellow leaders took oath as Chief Minister and Ministers. Although his first term in power lasted for only 49 days, AAP later formed governments in Delhi and Punjab and emerged as the third largest political force in the country after BJP and Congress.
AAP was born at a time when the country was facing a massive movement under the leadership of social worker Anna Hazare, which aimed at a strong Lokpal, election reforms and ensuring farmers' rights. Kejriwal was an active participant in the Anna Hazare movement and AAP was formed on November 26, 2012 with an aim to work on these issues.
AAP's journey till now:
In December 2013, when the Assembly elections were held in Delhi, AAP created a new political wave by winning 28 out of 70 seats while BJP won 34 seats and Congress was limited to only 8 seats. With the support of Congress, AAP formed the government in Delhi but the government could last only for 49 days.
In 2015 Assembly elections, the AAP created a historic victory winning 67 out of 70 seats.
In 2020, AAP won 62 seats and successfully retained its power in Delhi.
Major challenges faced by AAP:
AAP has seen many ups and downs in its 12-year journey. Since its formation, many prominent leaders have bid goodbye with the major setback being in 2024 when Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot quit AAP and joined the BJP. Gehlot's resignation letter stating, "we are not fighting for the rights of the people but only for a political agenda," threw the party in a tought position. This apart, many other prominent leaders including Kumar Vishwas, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Ashutosh and Rajendra Pal Gautam also quit the party.
Also, resignation of the party's founding member poet Dr. Kumar Vishwas was a loss for the party. He had bid goodbye due to "differences with party leader Arvind Kejriwal".
Leaders like Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan accused Kejriwal of dictatorship and corruption in the internal affairs of the party and quit. Recently, Maharashtra unit leaders Subhash Ware and Anjali Damania also resigned from the party, while Rajendra Pal Gautam decided to join the Congress in October 2022 after the idol worship controversy. However, despite all these incidents, AAP has firmly established its roots, managing to weild power in more than one state.
Scams and corruption allegations:
The Delhi liquor policy had taken the party through the most challenging times with allegations being raised against senior leaders of accepting bribes worth crores of rupees. Top party leaders including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair had to go behind the bars over the allegations.
Although the leaders got bail, the case has caused a lot of damage to AAP's image. Kejriwal resigned from the Chief Minister's post and said that until the public gives him a certificate of honesty, he will not sit on the CM's chair.
Currently, the AAP is busy preparing for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Priyanka Kakkar, national spokesperson, described this journey of politics as unmatched. "In these 12 years, we got immense love and support from the people. The party has expanded a lot over these years."
Kakkar also said that the party believes in the Constitution and it was formed on Constitution Day. The work that AAP did in these 12 years has not been done by any other party in the last 75 years, he claimed.
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