Anil Anand

How will the arrest of Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal, by the Enforcement Directorate, in the midst of Lok Sabha election unfold politically and electorally? Will it prove to be a boon or a bane for the fledgling opposition unity? Will it unite and galvanize the opposition?

Not even a year old the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) has been facing bumpy rides every now and then particularly with a charged BJP regime sparing no efforts at shaking freshly laid foundation of the alliance using all means. Engineering defections and levelling corruption charges on the leaders of the alliance partners have remained to be the core of the ruling dispensation’s strategy. The central agencies have come handy in pursuance of this agenda of the ruling party.

Mr Kejriwal has been facing corruption and money laundering charges in the now infamous Delhi government’s Excise Policy case. Given the pattern followed by the center that includes systematically drumming up corruption charges against the opposition leaders particularly the chief ministers, the arrest of Mr Kejriwal has though not surprised anyone as it seemed eminent, but it certainly has stirred a debate about the real intention and timing of the action. Both the intention and timing have a lot to do with Lok Sabha elections and leaves no one in any doubt.

Will Mr Kejriwal’s arrest give the opposition parties a reason to close their ranks which they have not been able to do ever since I.N.D.I.A came into existence? No doubt neither the AAP has a pan-India presence and is just in its infancy, nor Mr Kejriwal has yet acquired truly a national stature. However, he has made his presence felt through his brand of agitational politics and certain governance skills. In almost a decade of its forming and heading the AAP, Mr Kejriwal has been able to capture people’s imagination more in Delhi followed by Punjab and some other parts of the state. He and AAP have become a talking point due to his distinct style of politics at times based on mindless aggression.

Delhi being the capital, is the nerve center of everything that happens in this country. The fact that AAP is ruling National Capital Region of Delhi and that the party had twice secured overwhelming electoral victories under Mr Kejriwal’s leadership, his arrest is the outcome of his popularity. Perhaps, the BJP having been twice beaten by him in the assembly elections, has other ideas to tame him, not electorally but otherwise. Emanating from Delhi, the episode of his arrest is certainly going to have political ramifications both for the ruling party and the opposition conglomerate.

His arrest certainly has given a reason and an opportunity to the I.N.D.I.A combine partners to come together. The first indication of the partners closing their ranks, to some extent, came in the form of almost all of them supporting and condemning the arrest of Mr Kejriwal. It was reflected in the manner in which majority of the partners agreed to share the stage at a rally planned to be held at Delhi’s historic Ramlila ground.

Congress and AAP have been the fiercest critics of each other. And rightly too as AAP’s growth has been at the cost of the Congress and eating into its support base. Still, Mr Kejriwal’s arrest has brought the two parties closer as never before. Not only did the leaders of Congress visited his official residence to show solidarity after his arrest, but the rank and file of the two parties joined hands in mobilizing support to make the public rally a success.

Despite the two parties bitterly fighting against each other in Punjab and rejecting any chance of a pre-poll alliance, there unity in Delhi and almost every leader of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc rallying behind Mr Kejriwal has kindled hope that his arrest can become a catalyst for till now elusive opposition unity. The alliance among the bloc partners at the national levels already ruled out and near finalization of tie-ups on state-to-state basis, this should provide an opportunity for the alliance members to at least raise their voice to make a joint appeal to the voters. Of course, the appeal has to be juxtaposed with exposing the highhandedness of the ruling formation particularly in the matter of misuse of official machinery and issues related to its performance.

The fact that the I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders lost no time in declaring support for Mr Kejriwal, it, probably, has led to the assumption that the emerging situation will help in consolidating the anti-BJP vote. And that it will also help in channelizing the anti-incumbency on account of issues of bread and butter such as unemployment, strife among farmers and other sections of the society, and above all the allegations of corruption against the Centre particularly after unravelling of the Electoral Bond related issues on Supreme Court’s instructions.

Sometimes a trigger is badly needed to bring the warring parties, particularly in the matter of opposition unity, together and realise their potential. Mr Kejriwal’s arrest is a trigger that has the potential of impacting the overall thinking of the I.N.D.I.A bloc and the partners’ leaders. The alliance, hitherto, has been divided by various fault-lines and inflated egos of some of the leaders (Mr Kejriwal included). Mr Kejriwal’s arrest has given them a reason to iron out their differences and present a united face. This semblance of unity is necessary after some of the original alliance partners such as Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal separated from the bloc either to plough a lonely furrow are side with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance popularly known as NDA.

Coming together by the opposition parties, as the election campaign is picking up steam, on the issue of Mr Kejriwal’s arrest, has yet another advantage. This has the potential of uplifting the morale of their rank and file, who have up till now been feeling left out and demoralized.

The biggest disadvantage to the opposition parties and in particular Mr Kejriwal is that he has been hauled up in an alleged corruption case. This is also part of the Narendra Modi regime’s well-orchestrated campaign to portray all opposition leaders, till the time someone joins the ranks of BJP, as corrupt and incompetent versus an “efficient and honest” system provided by him and the BJP.

The opposition runs the risk of facing a targeted campaign, which will be spearheaded by Mr Modi himself, defending someone mired in corruption and money laundering case. That is expected and the opposition particularly the Congress should not get deterred by this latest onslaught. Instead, they should go on the offensive, presenting a united face and present before people the acts of omission and commission of the ruling junta.

The going certainly has been made tough for the opposition by Mr Modi’s dispensation. However, it also presents the opposition with an opportunity to make best use of the situation. Notwithstanding the fact that the opposition is handicapped by the absence of a level playing field and that it is continuously facing onslaught launched by team Modi including misuse of government agencies such as CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department etc., as alleged by the opposition leaders, they must put up a united face with the arrest of Mr Kejriwal becoming a cementing force.