Former AAP Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar Joins Congress, Explains Why She Left Kejriwal’s Party

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar joined the Congress on Saturday, saying she had decided to leave her former party after becoming increasingly uncomfortable defending decisions and actions she disagreed with.

At a press conference after joining the Congress, Kakkar said she wanted to see Delhi regain the character of the city she had grown up in, describing her vision as one that was green, clean, progressive and safe.

“I need the Delhi back in which I grew up, wanting a green, clean, progressive, and safe Delhi that was part of my upbringing,” she said, adding that she believed Congress could deliver on that vision.

Kakkar also spoke favourably about Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, describing him as an authentic political leader who, in her view, openly expresses his positions despite political pressure.

She said Gandhi's interventions on electoral issues, including his criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, had also influenced her thinking about the importance of voting rights and the functioning of electoral institutions.

Explaining her decision to leave the AAP, Kakkar said her perception of the party had changed over the years. She alleged that the organisation had initially attracted people who were committed to its stated principles but had subsequently moved away from some of those positions.

“This I am speaking with lived experience. I have left AAP because they used to show that they would not take bungalows and all, but they started travelling in private choppers. I could no longer defend the indefensible,” she said.

Kakkar also alleged that some party leaders who, according to her, had not delivered at the booth level in Rajasthan were subsequently given responsibilities in Punjab along with other privileges.

“How long can I defend the indefensible?” she said while explaining her decision.

Her departure marks a significant political shift for a leader who had spent more than a decade with the AAP. Kakkar joined the party in 2013 after being inspired by its founder and National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and went on to take up several organisational responsibilities.

The AAP appointed her as its national chief spokesperson in 2023. Before that, she served as the party's Telangana observer from 2017 to 2019 and later worked as the legal head for the South Delhi parliamentary constituency. She was also involved in Raghav Chadha's Lok Sabha campaign.

From 2021 to 2023, Kakkar served as an adviser to Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. She also worked as the party's legal observer for Uttar Pradesh and was part of a 12-member committee overseeing the organisation in the state. Her earlier appointment as AAP's national chief spokesperson was reported by The Indian Express in 2023.

Kakkar is a lawyer with a master's degree in law from the University of Pennsylvania and, according to her profile, has 17 years of legal practice experience.

Her move to Congress comes at a time when political parties in Delhi and elsewhere are engaged in debates over electoral institutions, voter rights and the future direction of opposition politics. Her stated reasons for the switch, however, are based on her own assessment of the AAP's conduct and its evolution over the years.