Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in the headlines again. After spending nearly 40 days, the AAP’s national convener stepped out of Tihar Jail and, in a no-holds-barred attack, held the BJP responsible for his incarceration. “I told you, I will be out,” Kejriwal asserted amid loud cheers by hundreds of his supporters who were there to welcome him. And within minutes, he announced his campaign schedule, reigniting the spirit of workers trying hard to canvass in his absence.
Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with an alleged excise policy scam and has been under judicial custody since April 1, was granted interim bail for 21 days for campaigning. The top court, however, cautioned Kejriwal from exercising his official duties as the chief minister during the period of interim bail ending on June 1.
The release of the AAP supremo has given the party a new lease of life. Although the party leaders were trying to invoke the “sympathy factor” in seeking votes in the aftermath of Kejriwal’s arrest, the lacklustre public response showed how much the party relied on its leader as a crowd-puller. Kejriwal’s re-entry has disturbed the BJP’s strategy, and the former now seems to be redrawing it.
Allegations
Kejriwal was arrested from his residence on March 21, hours after the Delhi High Court denied him protection against “coercive action” by the ED in the money-laundering case.
The ED claimed that Kejriwal had been intrinsically involved in the entire conspiracy, and the proceeds of the crime, amounting to Rs 45 crore, were used in the AAP election campaign for Goa.
“This policy was being drafted considering the favours to be granted to the South Group and was formed in collusion with Vijay Nair, Manish Sisodia and members-representatives of the South Group,” the ED had said in its remand application to the Court.
According to the ED, Kejriwal’s role in the formulation of the policy was evident from the statement of two people—C Arvind, (then secretary of former deputy CM Manish Sisodia) and Buchi Babu (CA of BRS leader K Kavitha).
Arvind revealed that Sisodia handed over the draft Group of Ministers report at Kejriwal’s residence, where former Minister Satyendra Jain was also present. The document mentioned that a “wholesale licence should be given to private players” and that the profit margin was fixed at “12 per cent.”
As per the ED, these points were never discussed in GoM meetings. Arvind prepared a draft and handed it over to former Deputy CM Sisodia. Later, it was submitted before the cabinet.
In Buchi Babu’s case, some Whatsapp messages retrieved from his phone revealed that “certain provisions of the excise policy” were found in his phone even two days before the council of ministers finalised it. Babu revealed that these parts of the excise policy were “sent to him by Vijay Nair”, a close aide of Arvind Kejriwal.
The ED further alleged that kickbacks were received from the “south group” in exchange for awarding them favours in formulating and implementing the excise policy.
The ED said this became evident from the statements of some alleged members of ‘South Group’—Sarath Reddy, Raghav Magunta, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy—who had later even become approvers.
According to the ED, Nair, who held no position in the Delhi Excise Department, “acted as a middleman on behalf of top leaders (especially Arvind Kejriwal) for “getting kickbacks” from various stakeholders.
The probe agency, in its remand application, stated that statements of various persons engaged in the AAP’s election campaign-related activities in Goa have revealed that cash payments were made to them for their work as survey workers, area managers, and assembly managers, among others.
“These persons have revealed that these payments were given to them in cash and were managed by Chanpreet. These persons and activities related to the election campaign were overall managed by Vijay Nair and Durgesh Pathak, AAP, MLA in Delhi,” the application read.
It said that this was also corroborated by one of the AAP candidates for the Goa elections in 2022, who “received funds for election expenses in cash” from the AAP volunteers in Goa.
Reinvigorated AAP
With less than two weeks left for voting for the general elections in the national capital, granting interim bail to the AAP national convener has emerged as a crucial moment in the current political circumstances. The Delhi CM’s release from jail on interim bail is all set to witness a substantial influence on the electoral dynamics in Delhi and neighbouring states like Punjab and Haryana. The party, in alliance with INDIA bloc partner Congress, has fielded four candidates out of 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi while fighting on all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. In Haryana, the AAP is contesting one seat while it is supporting Congress on the remaining nine seats.
In Delhi, with AAP facing a leadership crisis since its several top leaders were in jail in connection with the excise policy case; Kejriwal’s re-entry into the political arena is anticipated to inject vigour into their campaigns, intensifying the electoral competition in the national capital.
The Delhi CM, who founded the Aam Aadmi Party, is the party’s biggest crowd-puller and star campaigner. Kejriwal’s effective campaign and unique style of connecting with voters are also challenges for the saffron party candidates on all 7 seats in the city. Both AAP and Congress try to portray his release as a vindication, contrasting sharply with the BJP’s narrative, emphasising the pending corruption charges against him.
Despite the barrage of criticisms and counter-narratives in various sections, the presence of Kejriwal is ready to change political campaigns in and around the national capital. Certainly, the BJP will have to make a fresh strategy to counter Kejriwal’s narratives due to his oratory skills and presentation. The BJP is trying to portray his image as a corrupt leader, while Kejriwal is denying all charges against him. His experiences and perspectives during his jail term are expected to connect with voters, further bolstering his appeal.
The second line of leadership and party cadres, who have been on the ground since the campaign kicked off in the city, have received a morale boost as their mass leader is among the public.
The campaign is expected to undergo a change, and the focus will be on Kejriwal. The INDIA bloc is hopeful of getting an advantage from his release. Kejriwal will not only campaign in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana but also visit states where voting will be conducted in the fifth, sixth, and seventh phases, political analysts said. The opposition projects him as a key INDIA bloc leader and will try to get sympathy over his arrest.
Renewed alliance
According to political observers, Kejriwal’s absence was felt more in Delhi, where the Congress and the AAP have come together to defeat the dominant BJP, than in Punjab, where the AAP has a popular senior leader in Bhagwant Mann, leading the party’s election campaign.
After Kejriwal’s arrest, the uneasy alliance between the AAP and the Congress started creaking under heavy contradictions. Many Congress leaders have resigned, citing problems with the poll alliance.
Congress leader and state party president Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned as city unit’s chief and joined the BJP, citing the alliance with the AAP as his key reason. The joint candidate of the INDIA bloc from North East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar, is facing dissent from local grassroots leaders for being an outsider. Some Congress leaders also oppose Udit Raj’s candidature from Northwest Delhi constituencies.
AAP was moving directionlessly in the absence of its guardian. Its lone Lok Sabha MP, Sushil Kumar Rinku, and party legislator Sheetal Angural joined the BJP.
However, AAP has now started redrawing its campaign strategy, focusing on Arvind Kejriwal’s transition from Jail ka Jawab vote se to Tiger is back during his interim bail. Meanwhile, Congress leaders also said that it would help the alliance appear stronger in the city.
Scores of Congress workers were present with the party’s flag at the roadshow Kejriwal held right after his release from Tihar.
“Moving away from the initial hiatus, our coordination with AAP is working well on the ground. We are supporting each other as the need arises. Our leaders accompanied AAP candidates during nominations and also held public meetings with them. We have made senior leaders as observers on all 7 seats who have been tasked to coordinate on district level and help them (AAP candidates) in campaign,” said Congress leader Anil Bhardwaj who is also a member of the joint campaign coordination committee of AAP and Congress
“Our former MLAs and their (AAP) current MLAs are charting out campaigns collectively. The district level issues are resolved there promptly while for central level issues are taken care by the joint committee,” he added. Meanwhile, talks are underway to hold joint rallies and meetings with the AAP leaders. These were not being done aggressively because the AAP was focusing more on capitalising on Kejriwal’s incarceration as a poll campaign.
BJP on defensive
The release of Kejriwal amidst the ongoing fierce poll battle has undoubtedly put the saffron cadres on the backfoot.
While the BJP officially maintains that it will win the polls with a clear majority, since Kejriwal is out, the saffron clans are deliberating and trying to devise a different and more aggressive campaign strategy for the remaining days.
The party’s city unit constantly attacked the chief minister over the alleged excise policy “scam” and called Kejriwal the “Bhrastachar ka betaaj badshah” (the king of corruption).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote a long note on social media slamming Kejriwal and calling his remarks after his release from jail “nonsensical statements.”
“The nonsensical statements made by Arvind Kejriwal on the BJP show that BJP and NDA, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will secure a remarkable victory. The INDI alliance that can’t decide its own leader is trying to comment on our leadership. The BJP and NDA are contesting the elections under PM Modi, who will become Prime Minister again and complete his third term,” Singh stated.
Meanwhile, Union Ministers, senior leaders, and Ministers from other BJP-ruled states are now participating and aggressively campaigning for all seven candidates in the city. A meeting is also scheduled to take place at the Delhi BJP to discuss further campaign strategy, as the city will go to the polls in less than a fortnight.
In the coming days, Delhi could possibly see BJP’s big wigs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
A divided public
One of the residents of Kalkaji, Jyoti Kumar, also a student at Delhi University, said, “Going by what my parents feel and what my friends feel about Kejriwal’s release is that he will do more harm to the current situation. He may make the elections tough for the BJP as it seemed to have a great hold over the constituencies. He will prove his worth in the 21 days he has been given to campaign.”
However, talking to the residents of Delhi’s settlement colonies and slum areas shows that some people consider Kejriwal no less than God. One of the senior citizens of Kotla village in East Delhi, Pran Nath said, “I am 65-years-old and I have seen Delhi under different leaders. I have seen our children studying in the worst conditions of the schools. We people can never afford to make our children study in private institutes, but Kejriwal has transformed government schools in a way that they are in competition with private schools. Then why are we not going to vote for him—for a leader whose priority is education.”
Apparently a majority of people share sympathy with Kejriwal as one of the residents of Patparganj, Ranjana Jha said, “I have seen people crying in my locality when the news of Kejriwal’s release came in. Kejriwal is such a personality that any common man in the city can easily relate to him. For most of us, it is not about AAP but it is only about Kejriwal. He has gone ahead and made efforts to make this city a better place to live.”
Meanwhile, the netizens flooded the social media with memes about interim bail for Kejriwal. His release also received criticism.