NEW DELHI: As AAP reels from its crushing defeat in the Delhi elections, social activist Anna Hazare has delivered a scathing rebuke of Arvind Kejriwal, blaming his downfall on greed for power and money. Hazare, who once mentored Kejriwal during the anti-corruption movement, said their ties ended when the AAP leader “took the wrong path.” Criticising the liquor policy, Anna said that the AAP leader’s focus on power and liquor policies ultimately led to the party’s demise after more than a decade in power.
“Initially, I was not unhappy with him, but when he took the wrong path, came into power, and his thinking changed—focusing on liquor shops and all—our ties ended,” Hazare said. “Alcohol causes immense suffering to women. I am 90 but still healthy; if I had consumed alcohol, I would not be healthy,” he added.
The activist recalled Kejriwal’s earlier promises of simplicity and service to the people, which he believes were abandoned once AAP came to power. “He used to say that he will stay in a small room all his life… Happiness is not found outside… Doing good work for society makes one happy from within. He did not understand this… Otherwise, he would have never thought of making the ‘Sheesh Mahal’,” Hazare said.

Speaking from his village Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare criticised Kejriwal’s choices, saying that Kejriwal’s governance strayed from the principles they had once fought for. “When he formed the party, people trusted and supported him. Later, however, he started promoting liquor and went after money, which has drowned him and his party today,” Hazare remarked.
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Hazare’s remarks come in the wake of AAP’s crushing defeat in the Delhi assembly elections, where the BJP secured over two-thirds of the seats, ending more than a decade of AAP’s rule in the capital. Kejriwal himself lost his long-held New Delhi seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4,089 votes. Other AAP bigwigs, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and senior party figures like Satyendra Jain and Saurabh Bharadwaj, also faced defeats.
The BJP’s return to power in Delhi after 27 years was met with strong remarks from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called it a “historic” victory. “The people of Delhi have driven out ‘AAP-da’. Delhi has been freed from the ‘AAP-da’,” Modi said in his victory speech, using a play on words to compare AAP to a disaster. He credited the victory to the BJP’s commitment to development and governance.