Arvind Kejriwal’s initiation in Indian politics started from the year 2011 through the anti-corruption stir of Anna Hazare. The movement is for the Janlokpal Bill to end corruption and resulted a huge protest in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Kejriwal and his colleagues first tried talking to the government to get the laws changed but when this did not work they distanced themselves from the movement to start the AAP in 2012.
In Delhi assembly election of 2013 AAP came into politics and they secured the second position in the election. Surprisingly, Kejriwal went on to form a government with Congress’ support ignoring the essence of the movement which was against the Congress and corruption. The former actually had the briefest of tenures, serving the Indian state of Gujarat for only 49 days thanks to differences on the Janlokpal Bill.
Kejriwal, in 2015, gave AAP the largest electoral majority in the history of Delhi; the AAP captured 67 of the 70 Assembly seats. This was achieved in spite of Modi wave that had taken BJP to the power at the Centre few months ago. Kejriwal was able to replicate this in the 2020 assembly elections where the AAP secured 63 seats.
Kejriwal ever since taking charge has been involved in pratials with the BJP-led central government and controversies like the one in the 2021 excise policy. This policy resulted into arrest of AAP leaders and ministers for corruption offenses. The AAP leader himself arrested and have been recently released on bail for over six long months imprisonment.
