AAP Cadre To INDIA Bloc: How Arvind Kejriwal’s Release Will Boost Their Lok Sabha Poll Position – News18

The Supreme Court’s (SC) interim bail for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal is expected to boost the morale of both the party cadre and leaders, and the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc.

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Kejriwal was arrested in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case on March 21. He will come out of Tihar jail on Friday night and will have to surrender on June 2. The interim bail is only for campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections – Delhi votes on May 25 – and Kejriwal cannot perform any duty as the CM during the period.

AAP minister Gopal Rai called the verdict “a victory of truth”, while Atishi pronounced, “Is desh mein tanashahi ka ant hoga, 2024 mein hi ant hoga.”

AAP CADRE

Kejriwal’s release will have a good impact on the party’s volunteers, especially those who thought that the party was headless without him. Kejriwal’s release is expected to galvanise the cadre, MLAs and ministers. Just a few days ago, AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand, Dalit face of the government and party, quit, alleging that it was anti-Dalit. He subsequently joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and would be contesting on a BSP ticket.

Former AAP MLA Nitin Tyagi, believed to be close to the party, on Friday posted a video on social media platform X, announcing his withdrawal from the party’s campaign after questioning the method of making women sign on forms for the Rs 1,000 promised for women. Kejriwal’s return to the battlefield is expected to stem the haemorrhage of its cadre and leaders. His being out of jail would boost the confidence of the party in the middle of these elections.

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Speaking to CNN-News 18, AAP minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “I think the bail of Arvind Kejriwal ji exceptional, it is unprecedented…I think BJP understands it very well that if Kejriwal is out of jail, he will be the BJP’s problem number 1…Their strategy of putting him in jail did damage to the BJP. They were not able to come out of it. And now his release will be a game-changer for the INDIA alliance.”

Bhardwaj, who has been campaigning for the past three weeks, said, “In Delhi, anyway, we were winning all seven seats…It will also an impact on AAP internally.”

INDIA BLOC

Secondly, it is expected to give a big boost to the opposition’s INDIA bloc of leaders who stood solidly behind the jailed CM, reaching out to his wife Sunita and even sharing the stage with her. They also welcomed the SC verdict. The first to comment were Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Akhilesh Yadav.

Kejriwal’s release will also boost their narrative of “political vendetta” against Opposition leaders. Apart from the Delhi CM, AAP’s Manish Sisodia, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha are also in jail.

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Kejriwal is expected to campaign not just for the AAP and the Congress in Delhi and Punjab, but across India, wherever there is a demand for him to campaign. AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha claimed that the political situation had flipped in Delhi, giving advantage to the AAP and Congress. “We will win 7-0,” Jha said.

In the absence of the CM, his wife Sunita led three road shows in Delhi. Now, Kejriwal will hit the campaign trail, claim vindication and urge people to support him.

Kejriwal’s campaign is expected to be even more hectic than Sanjay Singh, who was released a few days ago, as he is expected to take the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) head on.