The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last night in a money laundering probe linked to the abandonment of the excise policy sparked an outcry among his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP ) and opposition leaders. The arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) comes just weeks before India heads into crucial general elections.
The AAP is expected to form a lower court against the Delhi CM’s arrest after withdrawing its plea from the Supreme Court on Friday (March 22). After Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, Kejriwal is the third prominent AAP leader arrested in the Delhi liquor policy case.
The Delhi CM’s arrest on corruption charges is significant as Kejriwal rose to power in the national capital almost a decade ago on the basis of fighting corruption.
Let’s take a closer look at his political journey.
Rise and rise of Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal became a household name in 2011 when he led the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement alongside social activist Anna Hazare. They went on two hunger strikes in Delhi that year, demanding the appointment of a Jan Lokpal (ombudsman) to fight “political corruption”, noted Indian express.
Kejriwal, a former IRS officer, won admirers across the country through the anti-corruption movement, which is said to have damaged the electoral prospects of the Congress-led UPA government in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Grand Old Party regime was then grappling with major accusations of corruption.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is said to have benefited from the movement led by Hazare. Riding the ‘Modi wave’ and anti-Congress sentiments, the saffron party was catapulted to power at the Centre, the newspaper reported.
Hailing from the IAC, Kejriwal and his close aides launched the political party – AAP – in October 2012. The party won the trust of the people and won 28 of the 70 seats in the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections.
Kejriwal even defeated Congress leader and former CM Sheila Dikshit by over 25,000 votes in New Delhi constituency. He formed the government with the external support of the Congress.
Relying on his ‘common man’ image, Kejriwal took the metro to Ramlila Maidan for his inauguration ceremony instead of an official vehicle. His government lasted only 49 days as Kejriwal resigned due to obstruction in the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi Assembly, according to PTI.
Propelled by his party’s performance in his electoral debut in Delhi, Kejriwal decided to fight against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While the AAP leader got over two lakh votes, he was defeated by Modi by a huge margin.
As Delhi went to polls again in 2015, Kejriwal’s party returned to power with a broader mandate, securing 67 of the 70 Assembly seats. The BJP managed to win three seats, while the Congress drew.
AAP’s numerous disputes
As the AAP tasted success in Delhi, differences began to arise within the party leadership. In 2015, the party expelled several founding members like Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha.
Yadav and Bhushan had denounced Kejriwal’s alleged “dictatorial” ways, while the party accused them of undermining its election campaign in Delhi.
Another estranged founding member, Mayank Gandhi, said The imprint in 2018, Kejriwal was an “opportunist” and under him, AAP became an “autocratic party” rather than a democratic one.
Despite the departure of many prominent faces from the party, Kejriwal continued to gain popularity thanks to his government’s focus on improving the national capital’s health infrastructure, modernizing government schools and providing subsidies for electricity and water.
Although he was denounced by his detractors for capitulating on his Lokpal promise, Kejriwal’s acceptance among voters remained intact. While the AAP was unable to win a single seat in Delhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party returned to power in the city by winning 62 seats in the Assembly elections the following year.
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Arvind Kejriwal’s life comes full circle
Kejriwal, 55, once called himself an “insignificant man”. However, this is far from the truth today.
After Delhi, the AAP registered a landslide victory in Punjab, ousting the Congress from power in 2022. It also achieved national party status through its expansion in Gujarat by winning five Assembly seats that year.
Over the decade, Kejriwal’s politics evolved. From adopting a ‘soft Hindutva’ approach to partnering with the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the AAP has seen major changes in its stance.
Kejriwal, who rose to power as an anti-corruption campaigner, is himself facing corruption charges. In a blow to his image as a ‘common man’, the BJP has accused Kejriwal of redeveloping his official bungalow for Rs 52.7 crore.
The bespectacled so-called ‘silent man’ has now been arrested on corruption allegations in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, after months without being summoned to the ED. The opposition condemned his arrest, calling it an attack on democracy.
Last year, the Delhi CM had said in a press conference that if “Kejriwal is corrupt, then no one in this world is honest”. As India goes to polls next month and AAP’s top leaders are behind bars, we will have to wait and see if the party can burnish its anti-corruption image and convince voters to “l Kejriwal’s ‘innocence’.
With the contribution of agencies
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