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How Kejriwal’s arrest is playing out in Punjab

By, Chandigarh
Apr 13, 2024 07:06 AM IST

With Mann as the face of the party in Punjab, the plan was to make his government’s achievements, especially poll guarantees such as 300 units of free power and 43,000 government jobs, the central theme of the campaign. But, a month later, the party has been compelled to change tack and focus on the incarceration of Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case three weeks ago.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was first off the blocks in Punjab when the party’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign on March 11 with the slogan – Sansad ch vee Bhagwant Mann, Khushaal Punjab te vadhegi shaan (With Bhagwant Mann in Parliament as well, Punjab will be happy and prosperous).

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was first off the blocks in Punjab when the party’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign on March 11 with the slogan – Sansad ch vee Bhagwant Mann, Khushaal Punjab te vadhegi shaan (With Bhagwant Mann in Parliament as well, Punjab will be happy and prosperous). (PTI File)
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was first off the blocks in Punjab when the party’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign on March 11 with the slogan – Sansad ch vee Bhagwant Mann, Khushaal Punjab te vadhegi shaan (With Bhagwant Mann in Parliament as well, Punjab will be happy and prosperous). (PTI File)

With Mann as the face of the party in Punjab, the plan was to make his government’s achievements, especially poll guarantees such as 300 units of free power and 43,000 government jobs, the central theme of the campaign. But, a month later, the party has been compelled to change tack and focus on the incarceration of Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy case three weeks ago.

Kejriwal’s absence a challenge

While the absence of Kejriwal, the party’s biggest vote-getter, is being felt by the party leaders in Punjab, the AAP is using his incarceration to galvanise the party cadres and play the victim card in the state where the stakes are quite high. Of the 22 Lok Sabha seats being contested by the party, 13 are in Punjab. The common thread running through the speeches of most party leaders, including Bhagwant Mann, in poll meetings in the state is their attacks on the “BJP and its agencies” for arresting Kejriwal and other leaders without any evidence and the alleged conspiracy to destabilise the AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab. They are also pushing campaigns like ‘Jail da jawab vote se’ and ‘Modi ka sabse bada dar Kejriwal’. AAP’s state working president Principal Budh Ram said that Kejriwal would be missed very much in the election campaign due to his strong connect with Punjab. “His arrest has gone down badly as people of Punjab detest the high-handedness of the central government. Punjab has a history of backing those who take on Delhi,” he said. At a meeting in Chandigarh three days ago, party MLAs, Lok Sabha contestants and constituency in-charges were asked by Mann and other senior leaders to go door-to-door with the state government’s report card and also tell the people about the Kejriwal’s arrest in the “fake case”.

Under fire from Opposition

Another challenge the national convener’s arrest has posed for the AAP is with regard to its anti-corruption credentials. A key theme of the party’s election campaign in the 2022 state polls was the promise to eradicate corruption and then started an anti-corruption drive after coming to power, but the allegations against the AAP top brass have cast a long shadow over its credentials. The state government is under fire from its rivals, particularly the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who are demanding a CBI investigation into the liquor policy of Punjab. The ED is already looking into the matter and had carried out searches in 2022 at the residences of two officers associated with the framing of the policy. Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, said the AAP started out as a niche party against corruption in high places but the anti-corruption campaign is losing sheen due to all these allegations. Kejriwal’s absence would be felt, but its performance would also depend on the state government’s performance and popularity of candidates, he added.

Unease over MPs’ silence

There is also unease in the AAP over the silence of most of its Rajya Sabha members who have been missing from the protests organised by the party in Punjab and Delhi against the arrest. Of the seven Rajya Sabha MPs from the state, only Dr Sandeep Pathak, who is also the party’s national general secretary (organisation), has taken active part in these protests whereas others have been conspicuous by their absence. Raghav Chadha went to London last month for an eye surgery and has not returned. He has been posting and reposting messages on social media in support of Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh. Other MPs, including Balbir Singh Seechewal, Vikramjit Sahney, Sanjeev Arora, Ashok Mittal, and Harbhajan Singh, have not participated in the protests on the issue. “These MPs represent the AAP, but most of them have not been participating in any political activity of the party. There must be some accountability,” a miffed ex-MLA said, requesting anonymity.

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