New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- Delhi's assembly election results didn't just put India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) back in power locally after a long gap, it revealed a stark diminution in the appeal of a political brand, AAP, short for the Aam Aadmi Party that got ousted by voters.

AAP's unique selling point was once its anti-corruption stance, which was dealt a hard blow by accusations against its leader Arvind Kejriwal in a liquor-excise policy scandal. On its freebie outreach, the BJP achieved parity in a race that's easy to join but fiscally reckless.

As for ideology, AAP went the safe way, refusing to set itself apart from the BJP. And then, there was brand dissonance too. The "common man" party's leader was seen leaping from mod...