Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the right hand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the face of education reforms in Delhi, is now behind bars in what is called the excise scam, leading to speculation over whether it is a death blow to AAP.
Since May 2022, former health minister Satyendar Jain has been in jail for alleged money laundering. Key implementers of Kejriwal’s showcase policies in health and education are behind bars, and both men have now resigned.
Beyond the logistical inconvenience of losing its most able governance hands, does Aam Aadmi Party worry that the corruption charges against Sisodia will dent the public image of a party birthed in an anti-corruption movement? AAP argues that conversely, it increases public sympathy for the party across the country. The arrest of Sisodia ― who has a clean image and morphed from an activist into the busiest minister in the Kejriwal government ― they say, is the tipping point for opposition forces to come together on the one-sided use of agencies by the Union government.
Indeed, Congressman and celebrated Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who also represents the Delhi government on crucial cases in the Supreme Court, now argues that the time has come for a “legal coalition” of opposition forces.
AAP has faced many trials by fire and remains an audacious unit in Delhi, built around Kejriwal. Recently, in December 2022, it won the hotly contested corporation elections against the BJP. Winning a popular mandate should entitle political parties to govern but it is this very basic constitutional norm that has been challenged most blatantly in Delhi by the office of the Lieutenant Governor, hand-picked by the Union government.
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The young party founded in 2012 is famously blocked at every step by the BJP establishment.
After the win in the municipal corporation election, for instance, the BJP has used every possible means to stop AAP from actually exercising control over the civic body. Kejriwal himself points out that since it came to power in Delhi with a historic mandate of 67 of 70 seats in 2015, there have been 169 cases against 49 MLAs, of which 134 cases have been dismissed, and 16 cases against Kejriwal himself, mostly dismissed.
The arrest of Sisodia, AAP says, has been condemned by the entire opposition minus the Congress, which describes AAP as the ‘B-Team of the BJP’. The B-Team point gets fiercely rebutted by the consistent BJP actions against the Kejriwal-led party, believes AAP.
Yet AAP does not intend to hold back on any expansion plans. They sense the opportunity in Madhya Pradesh but will also explore Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and even Karnataka in a limited way, all states where elections will be held this year. The intent, they say, is to spread awareness about the AAP brand across India because opinion polls show that Kejriwal has an all-India image.
There has been a shift in AAP’s “ekla chalo (go alone)” strategy in recent months with Kejriwal meeting many opposition leaders, including those who are in alliance with the Congress, such as Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray. Earlier, he had met with Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin. Kejriwal was also invited to share the stage with Telangana C.M. KCR, who is out of the Congress-led Opposition structure that also excludes AAP and the TMC.
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After the meeting with Thackeray, Kejriwal told the media that Opposition parties need to unite to fight the BJP. Without mentioning the Adani Group/Hindenburg Research report, he also said that “LIC will plunge into losses soon.” AAP MP in the Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh, meanwhile has kept up a constant incantation about arrests being used to deflect attention away from the Adani scam.
AAP argues that it does not damage Opposition unity because it believes that the Congress will be unable to perform in a national election in states where it faces a direct contest against the BJP. In fact, AAP argues that the Congress’ greatest ideological ally, the Left, will be electorally opposed to it in Kerala in 2024, so a Congress-led Opposition is a non-starter.
Yet, whatever the ambitions and strategies, the absence of Sisodia will make it harder for Kejriwal to delegate governance responsibilities in Delhi. Members of the party are shaken by the incarceration of Sisodia, for whom everyone has affection and respect. He was the go-to person not just for Kejriwal but all members of AAP.
Saba Naqvi is a journalist and author of Capital Conquest.
This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.