Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was released on bail on Friday in connection with the liquor policy scandal. The Supreme Court granted him bail nearly 6 months after his arrest in the CBI case. Kejriwal is India's first leader to go to jail while being Chief Minister and then get released on bail while still in office. Earlier, Kejriwal said every drop of his blood is for the people of Delhi, but on Friday, he stated that every drop of his blood is for the people of India. After his release, Kejriwal immediately took a strong stance against the BJP-led central government.
Kejriwal's manner of return suggests he emerged from jail as a national leader. He proclaimed that his honesty and righteousness were validated by divine support, and his power has now increased a hundredfold after 177 days in jail. When he returned home, his 80-year-old mother welcomed him with a Tilak, and his wife Sunita Kejriwal celebrated his release by offering sweets to party leaders, stating that the Supreme Court nullified BJP's plan.
The question now is, what lies ahead? The Haryana elections are next. In Haryana, there has been no agreement on seat sharing between Kejriwal's party and Congress. If Kejriwal campaigns there, will it hurt Congress and benefit BJP? Having pushed Congress out in Delhi and Punjab, Kejriwal's party is yet to establish itself in Haryana, which lies between these two states. With 22 days left for elections, all leaders accused in the liquor scandal are out on bail.
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Source: aajtak
Increased Strength of AAP in Haryana Elections?
Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia—the party's three biggest leaders are currently out on bail. Can AAP find success in Haryana? Since 2014, neither in the Parliamentary nor Assembly elections has AAP managed to win seats in Haryana. Their vote share barely reached 4.5%. In the last Assembly election, all their candidates lost their deposits. This time too, even with an alliance with Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, they failed to win in Haryana.
Kejriwal highlights issues of misuse of investigative agencies and divides along caste and religion lines, with BJP as the direct target. If Kejriwal can channel these issues to garner votes, it might lead to a split in anti-BJP votes, thereby potentially benefitting BJP.
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Conditions for Kejriwal’s Bail
The court granted Kejriwal bail under certain conditions. He cannot visit the Chief Minister's office, sign any files, make statements regarding the investigation, or attempt to obstruct the investigation or influence witnesses. These conditions form the basis of his regular bail.
Moreover, before the Lok Sabha elections, several senior opposition leaders had been arrested by the ED and CBI, and they've all been released on bail too. This includes Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, and KCR's daughter K. Kavitha.
Source: aajtak
Other Opposition Leaders Also Released from Jail
Interestingly, opposition leaders arrested before the Lok Sabha elections performed brilliantly in the elections while opposition leaders who faced CBI and ED inquiries and joined BJP while under investigation, performed poorly. For instance, despite the arrests of three senior AAP leaders in the liquor scandal, AAP received more votes in Delhi and Punjab than in previous polls. AAP's vote share in Punjab increased by 18.52% and in Delhi by nearly 6%.
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Similarly, despite the arrest of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, his party’s vote share increased by nearly 3% in the recent Lok Sabha elections, winning three out of five seats compared to just one previously. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut and NCP's Anil Deshmukh also saw their parties excelling in the elections. Despite losing control of his original party, Uddhav Thackeray, along with Sharad Pawar, won more seats in Maharashtra than rivals Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. This data indicates a trend where jailed opposition leaders have performed well in Lok Sabha elections.
Poor Performance by Opposition Leaders Joining BJP
On the other hand, opposition leaders who joined BJP performed poorly. Ajit Pawar’s NCP won just one of four Lok Sabha seats and he also failed to get his wife elected. Chhagan Bhujbal and Praful Patel also joined BJP but this yielded no benefit for NDA in elections. Similarly, Congress defectors Jyoti Mirdha, Captain Amarinder Singh's son Raninder Singh, and Hemant Soren's sister-in-law Sita Soren joined BJP but were defeated. Maharashtra's former CM Ashok Chavan also joined BJP and was made a Rajya Sabha MP in hopes of helping BJP win the Nanded Lok Sabha seat, but BJP lost there as well.
