The Supreme Court's decision to grant Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal interim bail until June 1 for election campaigning in an alleged money laundering case involving the now-canceled Delhi excise policy was a major win for both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the INDIA block of opposition parties. Even though the AAP-Congress coalition suffered severe blows with the resignations of prominent Congressmen like state chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and Neeraj Basoya, Kejriwal's presence has undoubtedly energized the party cadre. Kejriwal's participation will undoubtedly aid in the alliance's improved organization. In addition, Kejriwal is a well-known advocate for the alliance and his party, and he is hoping to win sympathy votes.
Sandeep Pathak, a Rajya Sabha member for AAP and a close assistant to Arvind Kejriwal, who is in charge of the party's whole general election campaign, told TOI that Kejriwal has given the party fresh energy. "With him, the cadre feels happier, much more positive, much more charged. That’s one aspect of it. The other is that the BJP thought that they would get Kejriwal arrested and then start breaking up the AAP in Delhi and Punjab. But they miserably failed," he said.
However, the Swati Maliwal incident engulfed out-on-bail Kejriwal just as he was starting to revitalize his party and now appears to have eclipsed everything else. In a PCR call, Rajya Sabha MP for the AAP stated that she had been beaten by Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal's personal aide, under Kejriwal's command. The police arrived as a result of this. She later went to the police station at Civil Lines to register a FIR, but she chose not to. Maliwal was visited by Delhi Police today, and they took her testimony.
Cracks in the Aam Aadmi Party?
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that Kejriwal's personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, misbehaved with Maliwal; Maliwal has not yet responded to this. Singh stated that the party convenor has acknowledged the incident and will take appropriate action.
Maliwal is allegedly being intimidated, and her life's in jeopardy, according to her ex-husband Naveen Jaihind, a former party chairman for Haryana.
Even if the complete picture is still unknown, things inside the AAP are undoubtedly not good. Differences between Kejriwal and Maliwal have long been the subject of reports. There are rumors that Kejriwal was not pleased with Maliwal's relative quiet on his arrest as well as her absence from Delhi both before and after his arrest. On the other hand, Maliwal was apparently in the US visiting her sister.
The majority of the party's Rajya Sabha MPs were oddly silent about Kejriwal's arrest prior to the Maliwal incident. With the exception of Sandeep Pathak, ND Gupta, and Sanjay Singh, the other MPs declined to comment on his apprehension or to publicly oppose it. There seemed to be a growing sense of discord among the party leaders as a result of this. The party suffered a blow when Sushil Kumar Rinku, the only member of the Lok Sabha from Jalandhar, defected to the BJP. Following Kejriwal's detention, party MLA Raj Kumar Anand, a minister in the Delhi administration, also resigned. Harbhajan Singh, a cricket player, and MP Raghav Chadha decided not to demonstrate against Kejriwal's apprehension.
Maliwal might leave the party, though, if she decides to name Kejriwal in a FIR that she files with the police. Kailash Gahlot, a minister in Delhi who has been absent from most party events recently, is another name put to the list.
“According to ET, the Maliwal incident has sparked new rumors in Delhi's political circles. There is talk that party leaders like Raghav Chadha and Harbhajan Singh are planning to join the BJP, while Maliwal has been convinced to remain in the AAP. ”
What lies ahead for Kejriwal
Kejriwal has only had a few weeks of reprieve, and even if he has stated in a speech that he would not have to go to jail if the AAP wins, the results of the election may not change his dire circumstances. While the court considers Kejriwal's request for regular bail, he is now free on temporary bail granted to him for his election campaign. The Supreme Court's decision to grant Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal temporary bail, according to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is "not a routine judgment". The home minister continued by saying that a lot of people think the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party received preferential treatment. The court has stated that it did not make any exceptions for anybody.
Following Shah's remarks and the court's quasi-clarification, Kejriwal's bail case will be closely monitored. With the amount of attention being paid to Kejriwal's temporary bail, many believe it will now be challenging for him to receive a normal bond anytime soon. There is a good chance that divisions within the party would deepen if Kejriwal is jailed for a long period again. But if he is quickly given a regular bail, he might be able to maintain his flock.
Kejriwal may also be concerned about his party being named as a co-accused in the case. The Enforcement Directorate claimed during former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's bail plea hearing on Tuesday that it was prepared to name the AAP as an accused in its money laundering investigation in the Excise Policy case. In addition to directly involving the party's convenor, Kejriwal, this will also raise concerns about the party's future. In this instance, a conviction may result in the party's ban.
What was meant to be a brief period of relief for Kejriwal is turning out to be a trial period. He will now split his time between the party's activities and the election campaign.
