The Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP, is a political party in India that emerged from the anti-corruption movement of 2011 and was formally founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his colleagues. Its name means “Common Man’s Party,” and that idea has shaped its public identity from the beginning.
AAP was created at a time when many voters were frustrated with corruption, weak accountability, and the gap between ordinary citizens and traditional political parties. The party presented itself as an alternative to established politics and promised cleaner governance, transparency, and a stronger role for citizens in decision-making. Its election symbol, the broom, was chosen to represent the promise of sweeping away corruption and misuse of power.
The party’s early rise was fast and dramatic. In the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, AAP won 28 of 70 seats and formed a short-lived government with outside support from the Congress Party. That first government lasted only 49 days because of disagreement over the Jan Lokpal Bill, a strong anti-corruption law that was central to the party’s origins. Even though the government ended quickly, it gave AAP national attention and established it as a serious political force.
AAP’s biggest breakthrough came in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, when it won 67 of 70 seats, one of the most striking victories in recent Indian state politics. The party repeated its success in the 2020 Delhi elections and strengthened its image as a party focused on schools, health services, electricity subsidies, and public welfare. Its governance model in Delhi became a central part of its political identity.
Beyond Delhi, AAP expanded into other states, especially Punjab, where it built a major political base. The party has also contested elections in Gujarat, Goa, and several other states, trying to move from a regional force to a national party. This expansion shows that AAP is no longer only a Delhi-based movement, even though Delhi remains its strongest political centre.
Ideologically, AAP describes itself as a party for transparency, honesty, secularism, and social justice. It often speaks in the language of ordinary citizens and argues that politics should be more accountable and less controlled by elite interests. At the same time, critics say the party depends heavily on Arvind Kejriwal’s personal leadership and that its politics can be confrontational.
Overall, AAP is important because it changed the tone of Indian politics. It turned an anti-corruption movement into an electoral party, won major public mandates, and pushed issues like public services and accountability into the centre of political debate.