"He focused on liquor": Anna Hazare about what he told Arvind Kejriwal

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Veteran social activist Anna Hazare has launched a critique of former chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of being consumed by "money and power" as his party faces a defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. The BJP, after 26 years in the opposition, is poised to take control of Delhi. Mr Kejriwal himself was defeated in his New Delhi seat by the BJP's Parvesh Verma.


Mr Hazare, the face of the 2011 anti-corruption movement that gave rise to Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, said his warnings to the Delhi leader went unheeded, particularly concerning the now-scrapped excise policy.


"I have always said that a candidate's conduct, thoughts should be pure, life should be without a blame, and sacrifice should be there. These qualities let voters have faith on him. 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," Mr Kejriwal said, as quoted by news agency PTI. 


VIDEO | Delhi Election Results 2025: On trends suggesting lead for BJP, social activist Anna Hazare says: "I have always said that a candidate's conduct, thoughts should be pure, life should be without a blame, and sacrifice should be there... these qualities let voters have… pic.twitter.com/BGRq81XGIH
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 8, 2025


The Delhi government's 2021-22 liquor policy allegedly favoured private wholesalers and retailers while allowing kickbacks to AAP leaders. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed that the policy provided a high-profit margin for wholesalers and nearly retailers. 


Mr Hazare has long voiced his opposition to the excise policy. In 2022, he wrote a letter to Mr Kejriwal, stating: "This is the first time I am writing to you since you became Chief Minister, because I am pained at recent news reports about your government's liquor policy. Like liquor, power too intoxicates. You are intoxicated by power, it seems."


Poll trends today indicate that the BJP is on track to reclaim power in the national capital after over two decades. Jubilant BJP supporters have gathered outside the party's Delhi headquarters, celebrating with drumbeats, fireworks, and saffron-coloured powder. 


AAP's hold over Delhi, which began in 2015 with a landslide victory of 67 out of 70 seats, now appears to be crumbling.