'Overwhelmed by money power...': Anna Hazare blames Kejriwal’s downfall on greed as BJP races past AAP

BJP is charging toward a clear victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, leaving the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scrambling—and social activist Anna Hazare isn’t holding back. Once a mentor to Arvind Kejriwal, Hazare accused the Delhi Chief Minister of losing his way, saying he was “overwhelmed by money power.”

Speaking out on Kejriwal’s apparent downfall, Hazare says, “Kejriwal overwhelmed by money power… I have always said that a candidate’s conduct, thoughts should be pure, life should be without a blame, sacrifice... these qualities let voters have faith on him.” The veteran activist adds, “I told this (to Arvind Kejriwal) but he did not pay heed, and finally, he focused on liquor... why did this issue raise? He was overwhelmed by money power.”

Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—born from Hazare’s anti-corruption crusade—is trailing behind the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a sizable margin. As of 11:30 a.m., the BJP had leads in 45 of Delhi’s 70 seats, comfortably above the majority mark, while AAP clutched 25. The vote share gap also grew slightly, with the BJP sitting at 46.87 percent compared to AAP’s 43.29 percent.

Pointing to the drift, Hazare suggests Kejriwal’s approach to governance and campaigning has deviated from its founding ideals. “If a candidate’s life should be without a blame,” Hazare implies, then pandering to moneyed interests is a betrayal to those principles. While the official results are still being tallied, the trends leave little doubt: AAP’s grip on Delhi is under threat.