New Delhi. “Unfinished: The end of Kejriwal Era?” Written by famous TV journalist Sumit Awasthi and published by Invisibil Publisher, this book is making a splash among the readers. The story of Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party is one of the most compelling political stories of India. This story is idealism, rebellion, hope, contradiction and finally harsh assessment. In this book, Sumit Awasthi has descended deep into this journey with a sharp eye of a reporter and sensitivity to see politics closely for three decades.
Sumit Awasthi is witness to the changing political and media scenario of India from the era of published daily newspapers to the existing 5G -made headlines. His book on Arvind Kejriwal is not just commenting on one person or party, it is the attitude of an internal person about how the public confidence, breaks and what is hidden under every election slogan and title? Unfinished at its core: The end of Kejriwal Era? There is a story of a person who became a warning plot from a symbol of hope.
Birth of movement
In the year 2011, the public was boiling in Delhi. From the Commonwealth Games to the high-profile government deals, corruption and scams pushed the common people to marginalized. This was the time when the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement broke into the consciousness of the people. In the same year, a thin person wearing a muffler at Jantar Mantar stood with Anna Hazare and attracted national attention. Whose name is Arvind Kejriwal.
Anna Hazare stayed away from politics, but Kejriwal entered it. Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) started with the promises of transparency, honesty and people for the people. The party, arising out of the government’s opposition, immediately left a mark on the people. Kejriwal introduced himself as a leader of the common man with an image of a shirt, slippers and “muffler man” without ironing.
In the result of this, in the year 2013, which was considered impossible in politics, it happened. AAP formed its first government in Delhi with external support and in 2015 Arvind Kejriwal’s party surprised the country by winning 67 out of 70 seats! Arvind Kejriwal dusted both Congress and BJP in the capital. It seemed that a new kind of politics came to the country.
Promises, power and questions begin
There were widespread improvements in the first few years of your rule. Free water, cheap electricity, mohalla clinics and public education were emphasized. Arvind Kejriwal established himself as the face of clean governance and public politics. His popularity skyrocketed and in 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party gained another decisive mandate in Delhi.
But the more the surface of this new politics was shining, the more cracks started to form. In his book, Sumit Awasthi explains how the values of simplicity, honesty and transparency that brought the Aam Aadmi Party to power slowly started to blur. The charge started allegations. Then arrests also started. As a result, Arvind Kejriwal’s party’s impeccable image began to be burdened with contradictions.
Reform from dispute: Start of collapse
The first shock came with the liquor policy scam. Due to which the leading AAP leaders, including two pillars of Kejriwal cabinet Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia, were arrested. The allegations of manipulation in the policy for money laundering and bribe began to eliminate the image of AAP like wildfire. The headlines, which once presented Arvind Kejriwal as a symbol of clean politics, now started questioning the foundation of his promises.
After this, the “Sheesh Mahal” controversy arose. The Chief Minister’s residence was accused of getting the luxurious renewal of the leader who once claimed to live with simplicity. Arvind Kejriwal was now accused of spending crores on expensive curtains, marble walls, silk carpets and luxury equipment. This contradiction was so deep that it could not be ignored. As Sumit Awasthi wrote accurately, “The person who stood on a public platform with a broom to clean the system, is now being questioned to hide the dust under the new carpet.”
Change in public spirit
Over time, public disillusionment with Kejriwal grew. The delayed action for Kovid-19 and low use of relief funds, failure of pollution control projects, the gap between promises and performance rapidly cleared. Most of the injuries were probably among the voters that the one whom he believed and joined in an emotional manner had broken that trust!
Arvind Kejriwal got the last political shock in the 2025 Delhi assembly elections. The AAP, once considered unbeatable in Delhi, lost power. Kejriwal himself lost to BJP’s Pravesh Verma in his home area. Which would be considered a symbolic decline. Delhi gave them disillusionment.
Arrest that changed everything
In March 2024, Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Excise Policy case. This scene was unavoidable for a person who had once resigned from corrupt ministers. His arrest also broke the remaining threads of AAP’s political capital. The party’s voice became weak. Public support decreased. His leaders got entangled in a legal battle.
In one of the most poignant comments of the book, Sumit Awasthi writes: “It is easy to promise in politics. It is difficult to maintain faith. Once it is broken it is rarely recovering in the same way.”
Journalist’s perspective
Sumit Awasthi’s balanced tone unfinished: The end of Kejriwal Era? Makes it different. Despite covering Kejriwal’s uplift and collapse closely, Sumit Awasthi does not compromise on the hero or villain’s binary story. Instead, he presents facts, makes timelines and allows the reader to make decisions. His journalistic honesty is clear in every chapter. Especially when he exposes both Kejriwal’s initial win and later failures with equal honesty. He neither makes fun of nor makes a glimpse. Sumit Awasthi observations, make documents and contemplate. The same thing makes this book important and reliable.
Mirror of modern Indian politics
Beyond Kejriwal and AAP, this book is also a mirror of what India expects from its leaders today? It is clear that accountability, honesty and humility. It reminds that the trust of the people is the most valuable in democracy. When it is ruined, it leads not only political defeat, but also to emotional loss.
The book ends with questions, not with findings. The biggest question: Is liberation possible? Can politics contained in public feelings make its way back after such a decline?
This book is necessary for curious people about politics
Whether you are students of politics, journalists, voters or someone who wants to understand the changing nature of Indian democracy, unfinished: The end of Kejriwal Era? Must read. It captures the pulse of a political age. Which started with the slogans of “India changing” and the end “What went wrong?” With Through this book, Sumit Awasthi reminds us that democracy is not only about leaders. It is about us. Our choice, our expectations, our vigilance which are associated with it.
Because after all, the most powerful voice in any democracy is not of any party or politician. This is the voice of the public.
