AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar banks on developmen to retain Kondli seat

AAP's Dalit leader Kuldeep Kumar's political journey from volunteer to MLA, promising improved infrastructure and healthcare for Kondli.

From being a volunteer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to securing the party ticket again from the Kondli constituency for the Delhi Assembly election on February 5, sitting MLA and Dalit leader Kuldeep Kumar, 35, has come a long way.

His political journey began 12 years ago as a volunteer distributing pamphlets in the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement, which was carried forward by Arvind Kejriwal to float AAP on November 26, 2012.

Mr. Kumar quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Delhi’s youngest councillor at 27 after winning the 2017 municipal election from east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri ward. He continued his winning streak, securing the Kondli reserved seat in the 2020 Assembly election, but faced defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the unreserved East Delhi seat.

Undeterred, he’s now campaigning in Kondli with renewed energy, using e-rickshaws with cut-outs of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, also known as Babasaheb, to appeal for votes.

Born to a migrant worker father from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, who worked as a sanitation worker with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and a homemaker mother, Mr. Kumar says he understands the plight of those residing in the jhuggis of his constituency.

“Born and raised in a 200-sq-ft house in Mandawali, I have closely seen the struggles of my community in accessing quality education. However, with AAP coming to power, things have changed. People from even the most underprivileged communities now have opportunities to attend school,” he says.

While he aspired to be seen as a “mass leader” during the Lok Sabha poll, he is now openly embracing his identity as a prominent Dalit face of the party.