'Relief that people saw the truth': Ex-AAP leader Mayank Gandhi on Kejriwal's fall

Mayank Gandhi, a former core committee member of the India Against Corruption movement and one of AAP’s founding leaders, reacted strongly to the Aam Aadmi Party’s defeat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Gandhi, who played a key role in AAP’s early successes, called the party’s fall a "relief," stating that it had long deviated from its original ideals.

"When AAP was formed, there was an idea of forming a new political narrative, but it became like every other political party and played the same game of corruption," Gandhi said while speaking to news agency ANI. He reflected on his decision to leave the party, citing its drift from honest politics and the constant internal allegations. "This is why I quit politics and went to serve in a village... Their politics stooped to really low levels and played allegation games. When they lost, it was a relief that people understood the reality of the party and that man (Arvind Kejriwal)," he added.

Gandhi didn’t hold back from criticising the current state of AAP, saying the party had betrayed the hopes of its supporters. "Politics is a place for the best and the brightest... But they committed scams, and I even have information on the cases that are about to be filed on them," he said, indicating that AAP’s troubles may be far from over.

Mayank Gandhi had been an integral part of the India Against Corruption movement before joining AAP’s National Executive. He was instrumental in the party’s landslide victories in the 2013 and 2015 Delhi elections and served as AAP’s Maharashtra chief until his resignation in 2015, citing serious differences with Arvind Kejriwal.

His comments come after AAP suffered a major defeat, winning only 22 seats compared to BJP’s 48. The Congress failed to secure a single lead. Kejriwal himself lost his New Delhi seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by 4,089 votes, marking the end of AAP’s decade-long dominance in Delhi.