AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday evening has dealt a severe blow to the ruling party in Delhi as he is the third prominent party leader to be arrested in less than a year and a half after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain.
With the Lok Sabha election fast approaching, the road ahead for the party appears rocky as it has to deal with the absence of Mr. Singh. The 51-year-old was a trusted aide of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and had assumed a larger role within the party after Mr. Sisodia and Mr. Jain were put behind bars.
While Mr. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the Delhi excise policy case in February this year, Mr. Jain was arrested by the ED on May 30, 2022 in a separate money laundering case.
After Mr. Sisodia, considered the number two in the party, stepped down as Deputy Chief Minister, AAP had inducted Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi into the Cabinet and made them in charge of the portfolios held by Mr. Sisodia.
However, it was Mr. Singh who had filled the void left by Mr. Sisodia in the party. The former Deputy Chief Minister had also taken the responsibility of conveying to Mr. Kejriwal the problems faced by fellow party leaders.
Mr. Singh had also made himself indispensable to AAP by representing the party in talks with other political parties in Delhi and in various States.
Constant presence
He was also a constant presence beside Mr. Kejriwal at meetings of the INDIA bloc, the grouping of Opposition parties formed to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha election. With Mr. Singh likely to be out of action for an extended period of time, the party will have to groom new leaders to take up his mantle.
Multiple AAP leaders told The Hindu that the arrest was unexpected. “It is a blow to us, but we will deal with this too like we have done with other issues in the past,” a party leader said.
With the names of other party leaders linked to the excise policy case, another AAP leader said more leaders are likely to be arrested before the Lok Sabha poll.
BJP sharpens attack
Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP has sharpened its attack on AAP by warning that the day is not far when Mr. Kejriwal will also be behind bars in the case. The arrest of its three top leaders on corruption charges is also likely to affect AAP’s core promise of corruption-free governance. The party has always portrayed its “honest” image while attacking the BJP and accusing it of being corrupt.
