AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, levelled a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, claiming that in thirty years of uninterrupted governance in Gujarat, the party had 'betrayed Hindus the most.' Kejriwal shared a video on X, urging followers to listen to what he described as a definitive account of that betrayal.

Context

In the post, Kejriwal wrote in Hindi: 'Gujarat mein pichhle tees saal ke apne shaasan mein BJP ne sabse zyaada Hinduon ko dhoka diya.' ('In its thirty years of rule in Gujarat, the BJP has betrayed Hindus the most.') He accompanied the claim with a video and the exhortation: 'Do listen to this.' The statement is a direct challenge to the BJP's long-standing identity as the primary political voice of Hindu interests in India.

The BJP has governed Gujarat continuously since 1995, when it ended decades of Congress dominance in the state. That makes Gujarat one of the longest unbroken single-party tenures in any major Indian state, a record the party frequently invokes as proof of good governance and public trust.

Policy Backdrop

Gujarat holds particular symbolic weight in Indian politics. It was the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who served as the state's Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014 before leading the BJP to a national majority. The state is routinely cited by the party as a model of development and administrative efficiency.

Opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, have periodically sought to contest the BJP's cultural and governance narrative in Gujarat, particularly as electoral cycles approach. Kejriwal's framing — accusing the BJP of failing the very community it claims to champion — is a pointed attempt to undercut the party on ideological terrain it considers its own.

Stakeholders and Impact

Gujarat's voters, a substantial share of whom identify with Hindu cultural politics, are the primary audience for this messaging. By arguing that the BJP has 'betrayed' rather than protected Hindu interests over three decades, Kejriwal is appealing directly to a constituency the BJP has dominated since the mid-1990s.

The AAP made its first serious electoral foray into Gujarat during the 2022 state assembly elections, winning a handful of seats and establishing a foothold. Statements of this nature signal the party's continued ambition in the state, framing its challenge not merely on development metrics but on the BJP's own cultural claims.

What's Next

The specific content of the video Kejriwal shared could not be independently verified from available records. Gujarat BJP leaders are expected to respond, and the exchange is likely to feed into the broader inter-party discourse ahead of the next state assembly election cycle. Whether the claim gains traction will depend on the details presented in the video and the response it draws from the ruling party's state unit.