Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav hold Arvind Kejriwal accountable for AAP’s Delhi poll debacle: ‘He felt politics...’

Ousted Aam Aadmi Party leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav have held party supremo Arvind Kejriwal accountable for the AAP's debacle in the 2025 Delhi elections.

Yogendra Yadav, one of the founding members of AAP, and Prashant Bhushan were expelled from the party in 2015.

Kejriwal's former colleagues in the party have attributed his “ ₹45 crore sheesh mahal” and the party's “shift” from the idea of providing alternative politics to becoming a supremo-dominated setup for AAP's defeat against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after nearly 27 years, sweeping away the AAP from the national capital. The saffron party won 48 of the 70 seats in Delhi, leaving just 22 for AAP.

Prashant Bhushan's explanation for AAP's poll debacle:

In a lengthy X post, Prashant Bhushan held Arvind Kejriwal “largely responsible for AAP’s Delhi debacle”.

Bhushan said, “A party formed for alternative politics which was supposed to be transparent, accountable & democratic was quickly transformed by Arvind into a supremo dominated, non transparent & corrupt party which didn’t pursue a Lokpal & removed its own Lokpal.”

“He built a 45 Cr sheesh mahal for himself & began travelling in luxury cars. He binned 33 detailed Policy reports of expert committees set up by AAP, saying that the party will adopt expedient policies when the time comes,” he added.

Prashant Bhushan also blamed Kejriwal for his “bluster and propaganda” politics and said, “He felt that politics could be done by bluster & propaganda. This is the beginning of the end of AAP.”

Yogendra Yadav on AAP's poll debacle:

Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj India party co-founder and psephologist, termed the party's loss a setback for all those who dreamt of alternative politics.

"This is a setback not just for the AAP but all those who dreamt of alternative politics in this country 10-12 years ago. It is a setback for all the parties which supported AAP and for the entire opposition in the country," Yadav told PTI.

Yadav claimed the AAP gave up on alternative politics soon (after coming to power) and got restricted to welfare schemes that reached a saturation point.