It is more than evident that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is preparing himself for yet another round of confrontation with the Centre, after ignoring summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate, and instead going to Madhya Pradesh to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominees there. Spokespersons of his party stated that there were legal infirmities involved and the summons were illegal, Moreover, the programme for the campaign had already been finalized, much before the summons were served on the Delhi Chief Minister. There has been intense speculation in political circles fueled by Kejriwal himself, that he could be the next one to be arrested. The Liquorgate scandal has already resulted in the arrests of his trusted deputy, Manish Sisodia and also the vocal Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi, Sanjay Singh. Many legal experts believe that if these two AAP leaders were indeed involved in the scam, it was very natural that the Chief Minister would also be under the scanner. It is difficult for anyone to imagine that Kejriwal was not having any information and inkling of what was going on in his government, if the allegations made against Sisodia and Singh are found to be true. On his part, Kejriwal has described the arrests as the outcome of a political vendetta being carried out by the BJP, which has not been able to dislodge the AAP from the capital and has failed to capture power in the Delhi Assembly. Sisodia and Singh have so far been silent as far as Kejriwal’s role in the scandal is concerned. They have also questioned the veracity of the evidence that has been collected against them and have accused the ED and the CBI of trying to implicate them in a false case, after pressurizing one of the accused to turn an approver. It is only further investigations that can throw light on what was what? However, the entire drama also has political dimensions since a lot of things might change in the capital as well as in Punjab, if Kejirwal was to be arrested. Kejriwal is the sole nucleus of his party which revolves around his personality. It is both his will and presence that keeps the cadres going. He has enjoyed a very clean image so far and the charges if proven, would smear it forever. That is where the BJP is focusing its attack on the Delhi Chief Minister, who came to power riding on an anti-corruption movement, headed by Gandhian, Anna Hazare. Since then, he has virtually ensured that most of those who were his co-travellers during that phase were eased out of the party, thus giving him both a firm control and supreme power. Sisodia was his most trusted lieutenant who virtually conducted every business of the Delhi government, providing free time to Kejriwal to pursue his political ambitions in other states. His absence must have impacted Kejriwal’s functioning even though he does not say so openly. On another note, there are several leaders who continue to maintain that Kejriwal and the AAP were the `B’ team of the RSS, and the arrests and this drama of confrontation was to mislead the opponents of the Sangh Parivar, so that they could believe that he was anti-BJP. At one level, this charge appears to be not completely without basis since Kejriwal continues to wade into the political arena where the Congress and the BJP are in a direct fight, and the presence of his nominees in the fray, helps in dividing the anti-BJP vote. In the latest instance, knowing fully well that his party had no standing in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan, he has ensured that in some places the contests were multi-angular. In fact, in constituencies where the margins of victory would be narrow, the presence of a third-party nominee can change the outcome. Fielding AAP candidates in these states, is also not consistent with the spirit of the newly founded coalition under the umbrella of INDIA. Right from the very outset, it has been Kejriwal’s objective to decimate the Congress, something which is common between him and the BJP. This strategy also suits him since if his party nominees would be in a position to take on the Saffron brigade on their own strength in Delhi and in Punjab, he would call off the talks of setting up joint nominees in the Lok Sabha elections. In the Congress, there are many leaders who are opposed to any truck with AAP and feel that they could win some seats on their own strength in Delhi and Punjab and do not need any crutches. However, the final decision on this matter would be taken by the High Command, which so far favours an alliance and an understanding for Parliamentary polls. in the two states. There are also political analysts who are of the view that if the INDIA front collapses ahead of the elections, the most likely suspects to sabotage its existence could include Kejriwal besides Nitish Kumar and Sharad Pawar. All this is in the realm of future and many new developments could take place. For instance, the outcome of the Assembly elections would certainly leave an impact on the Parliamentary polls and could change the political narrative. Things as they stand are extremely fluid. Therefore, the best option would be to wait and watch and allow matters to unfold on their own.
