Dr. Gyan Pathak
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s acquittal along with all 23 accused persons in liquor policy scam case has suddenly changed India’s political narrative. The illusion of ‘free and fair elections’ under PM Narendra Modi’s rule has been lost among people which may reset the national politics, irrespective of the fate of CBI’s petition filed in the Delhi High Court on Saturday challenging the judgement given by the Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue Court of New Delhi on February 27.
The judgement given by the special judge will not only boost the morale of the APP rank and file in Delhi, but will reverberate across the country, because the judgement has exposed the deep rooted conspiracy under PM Narendra Modi led government against the opposition leaders, branding them as corrupt, implicating them in criminal cases, getting ED and CBI to raid their houses and their associates’ premises, confiscated their financial and other resources, arresting them and putting them behind the bars, and sabotaging opposition campaign during elections, enabling themselves to win elections. The ruling establishment have been successfully doing this because judiciary usually delay their decisions, during which elections are held, votes are cast, and elections were lost and won.
The direct impact of the judgement will be felt in Delhi, Goa, and Telangana. BRS supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha was also an accused, and her acquittal will have political consequence in Telangana also, while Goa’s politics will also be influenced in favour of AAP where the CBI and ED had alleged that proceeds of the corruption money were spent there during elections, but Special Judge did not find any proof.
Though AAP has narrowly lost Delhi election in February 2025 to BJP, AAP is in power in Punjab, where the party will get further boost because of the acquittal of all AAP leaders and charges of corruption against all have been dropped due to lack of evidence. It is worth mentioning here that AAP had already spread its political network to as many as 18 states and UTs of the country, that has somewhat clouded after the corruption cases were clamped on the AAP leaders since 2021-22. Several of AAP leaders were put behind bars, and cases were registered against hundreds of others in several other cases, which had enabled the BJP leaders to show the AAP and its leaders corrupt. BJP had won the Delhi Election in this way, but the acquittal has shown that the elections was thus neither free nor fair. Now the acquittal poses a question whether the Delhi election results are valid, in the light of APP leaders unfairly put behind bars?
BJP leadership’s chief election plank has been that opposition leaders are corrupt, which has lost its value now after the acquittal of all accused leaders including of AAP in Delhi and BRS in Telangana. BJP leadership has been pushing this narrative in all opposition ruled states. It will not be out of place to mention here that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was also arrested in ED case, but the Supreme Court of India has stayed the trial in ED case on February 25. BJP leadership has been pushing this narrative of corruption against opposition CMs in poll bound states West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The acquittal of Kejriwal and all other accused has punctured this narrative. Assam is also going to poll, where CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is sitting pretty because the BJP leadership is not pursuing corruption charges against him after he left Congress, joined BJP, and became BJP CM in the state. Clearly, it will impact the politics of BJP, which will be seen as suppressing the opposition by hook and crook, while protecting those who will support PM Narendra Modi.
AAP has clearly staged a comeback after the acquittal of all its leaders in the case, and it will impact not only the BJP’s political future but also of the future of other political parties in the INDIA bloc, particularly of the Congress. AAP’s imminent resurgence in Delhi, Goa, and Gujarat will directly impact the BJP in those state, while it will impact the political future of the Congress in Delhi and Punjab. AAP was able to gain considerable support base even in certain urban areas of Assam, which is going to poll in April-May, and therefore acquittal of its leaders will boost of the moral of local AAP leaders there.
The reactions of the leaders of non-BJP political parties and their leaders, whether they are in INDIA bloc or outside its fold, are indication that INDIA bloc will have to make changes in their leadership structure to make it stronger across the country.
Kejriwal’s acquittal will impact the most the two political parties – the BJP and the Congress, and hence the reactions of their leaders are understandable. Kejriwal has given clear political message to the nation and said, “Two people, PM Modi and Amit Shah hatched this conspiracy to finish the Aam Aadmi Party. Today they should apologise to the country. They knew they could not beat us in Delhi … and that’s why they hatched this case.”
BJP spokes person Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the trial court order raises serious concerns, and dubbed it as a technical matter. He said that CBI will take the next step. He said that the court’s decision, in the light of the record so far, was a “miscarriage of justice.”
Worries of the Congress can also be seen in its reaction. Punjab is going to polls next year, where it will have to fight a tough political battle with the resurgent ruling AAP, which is also a cause of downfall of Congress in the National Capital Delhi. Gujarat will also be going to poll in 2027, where AAP has considerable support base. A stronger AAP means immediate trouble for Congress in Punjab, Gujarat, and Delhi. That is why many congress leaders do not seen resurgence of AAP as their reactions show. Congress used the judgement to target BJP, but it said the judgement a “predictable script” and dubbed AAP as “convenient ally” of the saffron party.
Congress media and publicity cell head Pawan Khera said, “The BJP is not a political party. It is a shape-shifter, a wishful serpent (Ichhadhari Naag). It will stoop to any level for one obsessive goal: defeat Congress – Congress Mukt Bharat.” He also said that elections are coming and cases against Congress leaders will suddenly accelerate.
Congress will have problems with its allies in the INDIA bloc too. Take the case of Maharashtra where Congress parted ways with its allies in the recent local bodies elections. Its allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP(SP) contested together. Now after the acquittal judgement, the Shiv Sena’s (UBT’s) mouthpiece newspaper Saamna has termed it a “slap” on political vendetta, demanding action against those who “fabricated” cases against Kejriwal. It claimed that BJP leaders, the Delhi lieutenant governor, and central agencies like the ED and CBI acted in cahoots to oust the AAP government in the national capital and demanded apology from PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Home Amit Shah.
This statement is reminder of how Modi government has been misusing Governors, and central investigating agencies against the opposition leaders. This sentiment if spread count further change the political narrative of PM Narendra Modi which will go against the him and his party. Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Goa, Punjab, Gujarat and elsewhere Congress will have to deal with the changing stance of its allies that may go against the party. Congress will be forced to renegotiate or it will have to go alone.
Entire opposition rallied behind the AAP leader Kejriwal after his acquittal is a significant political development. Opposition parties have said in unison that development was a blow to Modi government’s falsehood and misuse of investigating agencies. TMC also welcomed and said that it exposed the BJP’s politics of vendetta.
In a very sharp statement Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has said that the collapse of excise policy case was a “moral death sentence” for the BJP as it had betrayed the people of Delhi. It should be noted that his home state Uttar Pradesh will be going to poll in 2027, where his party is chief opponent of the ruling BJP under CM Yogi Adityanath.
Opposition has raised their attacks on BJP, especially in poll bound states. BJP has been aggressive against TMC led by CM Mamata Banerjee and her associates. ED have been raiding their premises, and Mamata will be using the acquittal of Kejriwal against the BJP exposing the real face the party leaders who go on vilifying opposition leaders.
While RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has demanded reelection in Delhi saying that the election was not free and fair, as the acquittal of AAP leaders indicated, AAP Supremo Kejriwal has challenged PM Narendra Modi to have a fresh election in Delhi claiming that BJP will not even get 10 seats.
Unless and until, the Modi government gets the judgement nullified in higher courts, the new political narrative after the acquittal judgement will continue to reset the nation political landscape. (IPA Service)
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