The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials late Thursday evening was not unexpected – Kejriwal himself had been warning about his impending arrest over his alleged role in the irregularities in the now scrapped 2021 Delhi excise policy. The AAP leadership and opposition parties in total have described his arrest as “murder of democracy.” The merits of the case will be settled in court, but the big question now is whether his arrest can influence the political narrative ahead of the upcoming general elections.
The INDIA bloc has announced a ‘mega rally’ at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan next Sunday to protest against Kejriwal’s arrest. The arrest happening just ahead of the general elections is deeply worrying. Kejriwal is one of the most vocal critics of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre. He has been at the forefront of taking on the Modi regime. With the media and all the government agencies literally under Modi, there is no level playing field for the opposition parties. It is going to be a Herculean task for the opposition to make their presence felt on the ground. It will be interesting to see how the people of India react to the arrest of Kejriwal. He is a mass leader and has a clean image to date.