On the morning of April 5, 2011, a lane adjoining Jantar Mantar — the protest hotspot of the capital — a small crowd had gathered for the launch of India against corruption’s campaign to demand a Jan Lokpal law ( In the coming days, the number would swell exponentially). Social activist Anna Hazare—the face of agitation— was seated on a raised platform, having just begun his hunger strike. Standing on the edge of the stage was a man keen to be out of the spotlight.

When media persons approached the small-statured man with a moustache for the information, he jumped off the stage and spoke earnestly about the campaign. The man was Arvind Kejriwal, the architect of the agitation. Kejriwal has by that time was already a noted transparency activist and Magsaysay award winner, still not nationally known. That was about to change in a big way.

The IAC campaign was the precursor to the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, which happened over a year later, and marked the entry of Kejriwal into politics. The anti-corruption crusader and the man who wanted to transform the system was now inside the system.

From a fervent activist who worked out of a one-room office in the congested lanes of Seemapuri to putting together one of independent India’s most impactful agitations and then registering the most shocking of electoral victories in Delhi in 2013, it was a rapid transformation for Kejriwal. His party went on to win Punjab and has been accorded the national party status. It is also one of the most prominent members of the Opposition India alliance, and he is one of its best recognizable faces.

The past decade has, however, also seen many of Kejriwal’s compatriots in the IAC campaign or those who were the founding members of the AAP either leave him over the allegedly compromises he made with the original cause or fall by the way side or find themselves edged out.

Kejriwal received flak for his stance on the communal riots that took place in Delhi in 2020, with critics saying he was more focused on carrying out a balancing act and failed to deal with the issue head on. A question often asked is about the ideology of Kejriwal and his party, and there are no clear answers. He has said that he is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and tries to follow his example. He has often said that his ideology is staunch nationalism and working to alleviate the problems of the people.

His party voted in favour of revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. In the Delhi elections of 2020, he negotiated the communal landmines set up by the BJP in the backdrop of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the protests against it by proclaiming his devotion to Lord Hanuman. However, party leaders say there is nothing wrong in Kejriwal or other AAP leaders owning up their Hindu their identity. This, they said, did not mean that they were anti-Muslims. (IPA Service)