Local gets vocal: Decoding AAP’s first candidate list, strategy for Delhi polls

Ahead of everyone else, Arvind Kejriwal has started the march towards election battleground 2025 when he seeks another term to head the government in Delhi.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) last week announced its first list of 11 candidates for the Delhi assembly elections due early next year. The party stressed on its commitment to “grassroots leadership” and “community-first” values and said the nominees were careful decisions based on merit and dedication to public service. They have been selected on the basis of public discussions held over months, AAP said.
The decision shows smart positioning and an attempt at drawing first-mover advantage over the BJP and the Congress in what will be a crucial election. For AAP and Kejriwal, this is a battle for the existence of the party as well as the very idea behind a political formation like AAP. The assembly elections will be seen as a referendum on the corruption allegations against the former Delhi chief minister and some of his party/cabinet colleagues in the Delhi excise policy case, which is being investigated by central agencies. AAP has described both the alleged scam and the probe as the BJP’s vendetta politics.
While announcing the candidates, Kejriwal warned party workers and supporters that the BJP will try everything to cause AAP’s defeat in the elections. “Chant the name of Lord Ram whenever you feel dismayed or fear. The name of Ram gives a lot of strength,” he said.
The party’s election portal, ‘Phir Layenge Kejriwal’, has been launched to anchor the election messaging. “If possible, take leave from your work for a few months and work on these elections,” urged Kejriwal. He appealed to supporters to set aside some time every day or week to campaign. “We will give you work as per your convenience,” he said.
The candidate choices will determine how strongly AAP fares in the upcoming polls. Back in 2015, the party had secured 67 of the 70 assembly seats. In 2020, it won 62. However, the two Lok Sabha elections held during the period did not mirror these performances. The BJP swept all seven parliamentary seats in 2019 and this year.
AAP wants to show it values public service over “traditional political calculations”. At first glance, the candidate list mixes strategy with party ideals. Many of the nominees are experienced politicians and include former MLAs and close aides of Kejriwal. Others have family or political ties that might help AAP keep its base strong in the backdrop of periodic setbacks from defections, most recently of longtime AAP leader and Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot, who jumped ship to the BJP.
Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad, the AAP candidate for Seelampur, is the son of former Congress MLA Mateen Ahmad. For Seemapuri, it is Veer Singh Dhingan, a four-time MLA who brings years of political experience. Both Ahmad and Dhingan joined AAP recently and their nominations align with the party’s goal of deploying well-known names in key constituencies.
The first list also highlights candidates’ community-focused efforts in health, education and public amenities and fits well with AAP’s larger development narrative of improving schools and healthcare in the Delhi—by now a standard pitch in whichever state the party has tried to make inroads.
Ram Singh ‘Netaji’ (Badarpur candidate) is a clear example of AAP’s practical approach to connecting with local influencers. He is a former independent MLA with a big role in resolving local issues. Similarly, candidates such as Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar) and Manoj Tyagi (Karawal Nagar) reflect a focus on districts where the party’s grip has loosened.
AAP’s dependence on its current leaders and grassroots figures will be tested in the fluid political climate, both in Delhi and nationally. AAP functionaries point out that the simple majority secured by their party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections in 2022 proves grassroots support for Kejriwal despite the corruption allegations against him and other heavyweights.
At the same time, AAP’s aim of nationwide electoral expansion has not gone according to plan. In the Lok Sabha polls this year, the party won only three of the 22 seats it contested across five states—all in Punjab, where it is in power with a solid majority. AAP drew a blank in the recent assembly polls in neighbouring Haryana.
AAP’s candidate list for Delhi shows a strong focus on picking faces based on loyalty and local strength. With elections just months away, the party’s community-first focus and governance record will face comparisons with the schemes of the BJP-led Union government and competition from a Congress out to revive its fortunes in the national capital.
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