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Delhi’s political circles are rife with speculation of at least four AAP MLAs emerging as possible candidates for the position of the leader of the opposition in the assembly
The most prominent name is that of Gopal Rai. (File image: PTI)
After two huge sweeps in 2015 and 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was reduced to just 22 seats in this year’s Delhi assembly elections. Now, the party will be seated in the opposition in the capital for the first time. The key task before it now is to pick a leader other than Arvind Kejriwal, who lost the polls, to lead the MLAs in the assembly. Even when Kejriwal resigned as the chief minister in September 2024, he continued to hold a prominent position in all the decision-making and big announcements.
Now, the party will have to trust an MLA who will be its representative in the assembly as the leader of the opposition. Delhi’s political circles are rife with speculation of at least four AAP MLAs emerging as possible candidates for the position of LoP.
The most prominent name is that of Gopal Rai, who is considered one of the main contenders. A senior leader, Rai has been a three-time MLA from Babarpur since 2015. He was a cabinet minister between 2015 and 2025. Rai secured 76,192 votes this time and had a victory margin of 18,994 votes.
A Purvanchali face, Rai hails from Mau district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. He has been heading the party’s Delhi unit since 2017. It was under his leadership that AAP won the 2020 Delhi assembly polls and defeated the BJP in the MCD elections in 2022. The BJP had a non-stop rule of 15 years at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Rai also kept the party together and strong at a time when almost all the top leadership of AAP went to jail.
Rai seems to be ticking all the boxes when it comes to being the face of the opposition, said sources.
AAP has been attempting to please the Purvanchal voters in Delhi as they account for nearly a third of the total electorate. In at least 51 seats, out of the total of 70, the community has influence, while in 27 seats, it is considered the majority.
The second name strongly surfacing is Atishi, who was trusted for the chief minister’s post when AAP national convener Kejriwal decided to step down last year. With Atishi, AAP can have female representation. She has an appeal among the masses, and she won her seat—Kalkaji—for the second time. This time she defeated high-profile BJP leader and former MP Ramesh Bidhuri by over 3,500 votes by bagging 52,154 votes.
At a time when AAP is embroiled in corruption charges and its senior leaders are out on bail, Atishi and Rai are the only two veterans and former cabinet ministers without any corruption cases.
In terms of seniority in the assembly, four AAP MLAs have been elected for a fourth consecutive time. The list includes Sanjeev Jha and Jarnail Singh, who are also seen as contenders for the LoP post.
Jha, also a Purvanchali, has been a four-time MLA from the Burari assembly seat, starting from 2013. Jha won the seat this time with a margin of 20,601 votes.
Singh had been an MLA from Tilak Nagar since 2013 too. He was the man under whose leadership AAP won the Punjab assembly polls in 2022. He could be the face of AAP in the Delhi assembly, as after losing the polls, the party will try harder to save Punjab and would give a prominent space to a leader from the community.
AAP sources said the party is waiting for the BJP to declare the chief minister first before the name of the leader of the opposition is announced. “The ultimate decision will be taken by the party leadership on who will be the LoP,” an AAP leader said.
Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar) and Vishesh Ravi (Karol Bagh) are also four-time MLAs who have continued to win from their respective seats non-stop since 2013.
Further, just like Rai, four more AAP leaders were re-elected from their respective seats for a third time. Imran Hussain (Ballimaran), Ajay Dutt (Ambedkar Nagar), Sahi Ram (Tughlakabad), and Amanatullah Khan (Okhla) have been elected as MLAs from their seats since 2015.
The leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly will have the task of standing strong before the 48 MLAs of the BJP and countering them. BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, who was the longest-serving LoP during AAP rule, had always felt that his side was never given enough time and space to raise issues.
