Kiran Bedi Attributes AAP’s Decline in Delhi to Governance Failures, Calls It Inevitable

New Delhi, 11th February 2025: Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Sunday attributed the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) decline in Delhi to its governance over the past decade.

AAP, which had secured 67 seats in 2015 and 62 in 2020, saw a sharp drop in its tally to just 22 seats, as the BJP clinched a decisive victory with 48 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.

“The party’s downfall is a result of its actions. I am speaking as a citizen, reflecting on the decline I have observed over the last 10 years,” Bedi said.

Bedi, who was the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in the 2015 elections, remarked that Delhi’s residents were reclaiming their city after years of deteriorating infrastructure, civic services, governance, financial management, and social harmony.

“Delhi was not at peace with itself,” she stated. “For a decade, we suffered in silence. Now, people are reclaiming the city to restore peace, harmony, respect, and dignity.”

When asked about the election outcome, the former Puducherry lieutenant governor said that the people expressed their frustration through the ballot, signalling their desire for change.

“A transition has begun. The results were unexpected, but the celebrations were peaceful,” Bedi said.
“Everyone wants to see a vibrant, cleaner, and greener Delhi. That is the hope, and I believe it will happen because there is now fresh energy to make it a reality,” she added.

Bedi was a key figure in Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption movement, which played a pivotal role in bringing AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal into the national spotlight.

“The movement aimed to combat corruption, and we succeeded in doing so. However, it was never meant to create a group that would indulge in the very practices it opposed,” she stated.

“This is why the group fractured. The movement was about raising a strong voice against corruption, and we achieved our goal of removing the corrupt,” she concluded.