Busy dousing fire on Swati Maliwal 'assault' row, AAP loses a week of Kejriwal's freedom and fought against itself than rivals

When the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 10 May until 2 June, the AAP leader had a clear agenda ahead. Arrested on 21 March by the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor policy case, Kejriwal now had 21 days to capitalise on his temporary release. His primary focus would have been to generate publicity for himself and the AAP by intensifying his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

The Maliwal incident: A shift in focus

This situation progressed smoothly until the Swati Maliwal incident on 13 May. On that day, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal accused Bibhav Kumar, a member of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal staff of misconduct. Following her allegations, the Delhi Police arrested Kejriwal’s private assistant Bibhav Kumar, igniting a dual conflict: AAP versus BJP and Swati Maliwal versus the rest of AAP.

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Amid the escalating blame game, two significant shifts occurred. First, the focus abruptly moved from Arvind Kejriwal to Swati Maliwal. Second, the internal feud between Maliwal and other AAP members overshadowed Kejriwal’s continuous attacks on the prime minister and the BJP.

Significantly, this incident consumed a crucial portion of Kejriwal’s 21 days of freedom with an entire week diverted to the Maliwal controversy.

Strategic reorientation

Regardless of whether AAP inadvertently fell into a trap or recognised the situation belatedly, Kejriwal understood the pressing need to redirect attention back to himself. He needed to refocus the battle onto BJP territory and distance the party from the Maliwal incident. Whether it was genuine support for his long-time aide Kumar or a strategy to revitalise AAP, the Delhi chief minister knew that a significant move was necessary to reclaim the spotlight.

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Kejriwal alleged that the BJP was trying to completely destroy AAP through Operation Jhadu. He shared that people who were familiar with both the BJP and him had informed him that Prime Minister Modi acknowledged AAP’s growing influence and the global discussion around their work. Kejriwal said that the BJP saw AAP as a potential tough challenger in several states and wanted to eliminate them. He made these statements while addressing the press at the party office on Sunday.

Importance of Delhi for AAP

Voting for all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi is scheduled for 25 May as part of Phase 6 of the polling.

Delhi is of paramount importance to the AAP for several reasons. It is the party’s primary base and stronghold where it was founded and first achieved significant political success by winning the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections in 2013. Maintaining control over Delhi is essential for AAP’s political legitimacy and influence. Furthermore, Delhi serves as a showcase for AAP’s governance model and policies.

AAP finds itself grappling with the challenge of maintaining a focussed engagement with its diverse electorate in Delhi, which encompasses various socioeconomic groups. Amid its efforts to highlight flagship programmes such as mohalla clinics, subsidised electricity and its work in government schools, the controversy surrounding Maliwal has diverted public attention from these areas which AAP would have wanted to bring in front of the voters.

Whether the Maliwal incident is indeed a premeditated attack on AAP as the party alleges or simply a coincidence only time will reveal. However, there is no doubt that it has placed AAP in a defensive position precisely when it was gearing up for a strong offensive. Whether it’s a calculated move by a political mastermind or just an unfortunate stroke of fate remains uncertain for now.