Will Kejriwal’s continuation as 'under custody' Delhi CM help BJP in breaking AAP?

New Delhi: Even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is under judicial custody in Tihar Jail, the Bharatiya Janata Party feels that the longer the Aam Aadmi Party chief remains under custody the better it will be for the saffron camp. It is understood that the saffron leadership has already deputed several of its leaders to reach out to any possible defectors in the AAP camp.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with money laundering in an alleged liquor policy scam case. It is learnt that the BJP is hoping to nudge several sitting MLAs and MPs from the AAP over to the saffron camp over the next few months.

Sources stated that the go-ahead for enacting “Operation Kamal” in Punjab and Delhi has already been granted by the top BJP leadership. With four former AAP ministers, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in Delhi and Fauja Singh Sarari and Vijay Singla in Punjab, and now Kejriwal, in a dock over corruption charges, the time is ripe for the BJP to go in for the kill, the party believes.

The saffron leadership feels that if it is able to create a chink in the AAP armour in these two regions, BJP’s local units will have much to gain in terms of garnering additional votes and increasing its support base.

The BJP had secured all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in 2014 and 2019 and it aims to maintain the 100 percent strike rate in 2024 as well. And there is a feeling that the longer Kejriwal’s stay in Tihar, the better chances for the BJP to set a narrative that AAP is aligned with corrupt forces and win all these seven seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, sources said.

AAP under duress

With Kejriwal becoming unreachable to the party leaders, it is feared within the party that it may soon face overt and covert attacks by the BJP and other political parties. Though the AAP leadership is putting up a brave front in the face of the arrest of its top leaders, there is a strong belief that the AAP legislators are soon likely to become targets for poaching by BJP as well as its INDIA bloc ally Congress.

It is an open secret that the BJP wants to rid Punjab and Delhi from the AAP government, as it continues with its attacks on the party’s leadership over alleged corruption.

Interestingly, it is believed that though the Congress leadership took part in a joint rally, held in support of Kejriwal on March 31 in the national capital, its Delhi PCC will be more than happy to win over its lost leaders, cadre and voters from the AAP.

The Congress’ local units are also trying desperately to gain lost ground in the two regions, where the AAP grew riding on the back of erstwhile supporters of the grand old party.

The next few weeks and months are being considered to be critical for the AAP’s survival. Political pundits are keenly awaiting the outcome of attacks on the newly-crowned national political party as it could have major ramifications on the democratic future of the nation.