Even as Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party had already started preparations for the upcoming assembly elections in the capital, the return of its senior leader Manish Sisodia from Tihar Jail has injected newfound enthusiasm into the cadres.
From July, AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai was on the ground reviewing the situation one assembly constituency at a time. Now, the entry of Sisodia will further fuel this process.
Out on bail
The former deputy chief minister was missing in action for more than one and a half years after he was arrested in February 2023 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also arrested him over charges of corruption and money laundering.
On August 9, he walked out of Tihar Jail in Delhi after getting bail from the Supreme Court. Wasting no time, Sisodia started holding meetings with party colleagues. Within a week of his release, he has met top AAP leaders and MLAs to discuss plans for the 2025 Delhi assembly polls.
Kejriwal, Jain still behind bars
Speaking to News18, a senior AAP leader, who did not wish to be named, said the party had already passed the test of time with each and every member standing strong when the top leadership was in jail. While Sisodia walked free, party head and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is still behind bars along with former cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain. Not long ago, even the party’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was also in jail.
“We are a very new party. And in the last few months, all our top leaders were put behind bars. But we stood strong and together. That shows our real power. Now our difficult days are over. First Sanjayji walked free and now Manishji. Soon Arvindji will be out too,” the leader said.
Ground-level workers look up to the big leaders. In their absence, they may lose hope and desire. But that did not happen, the AAP leader said.
“Manishji will be on the ground telling his stories and meeting people. He realised there was no time to waste. As soon as he walked out of jail, he started working as a party worker and that shows the discipline in AAP. His entry in the picture has pushed the campaign on the ground multifold. Not just the party cadre but the people of Delhi are also happy and celebrating on his return from jail,” the leader added.
The AAP leader went on to say that while Rai was already running a campaign called Vikas Sabha where the MLAs were holding public meetings, Sisodia’s padyatra would ensure a more direct connection with the people.
“Gopalji was holding public meetings that were for masses but Manishji will be going to every house across the city. This is just the beginning. The party has a lot in mind. We are hopeful that Arvindji will join us soon too,” the leader said.
This time, the party is aiming to win all 70 assembly seats in Delhi. In the 2015 elections, AAP won 67 out of the 70 seats, while in the 2020 polls, it bagged 62 seats.
No tie-ups
Soon after the Lok Sabha elections concluded in June, AAP announced that it would not be joining hands with any party in the assembly polls in Delhi. This came after Congress and AAP tied up for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi but failed to bag even a single seat in the city. AAP has also decided to go solo for the Haryana assembly polls, slated to be held before the Delhi elections. The term of the Haryana assembly will end in November while that of Delhi is ending in February.
Sisodia in his meeting with MLAs took the ground reports about the performances of the legislators, including the work done in their constituencies and the work underway that should be completed before the model code comes into force in Delhi. The party had also announced that Sisodia would be going to Haryana, where AAP has started campaigning.
Sisodia’s padyatra
On Friday, August 16, which also happens to be chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s birthday, Sisodia will start his padyatra from DDA Flats in Kalkaji, under the Greater Kailash assembly constituency, at 5pm.
The campaign was earlier scheduled to start on August 14 but was postponed after discussions with the Delhi Police, who recommended a shift in view of Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
As per the party’s plans, the yatra will pass through all the assembly constituencies and the Sisodia will interact with the people directly.
Rai’s Vikas Sabha
Last month, Rai started the Vikas Sabha campaign as he visited assembly constituencies across the city to get report cards of the MLAs. The legislators shared what they have done since 2020 and what they will do before 2025.
Rai, while speaking to News18, had said the aim of these sabhas (gatherings) was to speed up the pending work in every constituency.
“The focus particularly was on rural areas. The MLAs have to say before the public what they did in the last four and a half years and what they will do in the remaining six months. This also allows the public to meet the MLAs and raise their issues, if any. These sabhas started on July 11 from Narela,” Rai told News18, adding that the party is also distributing saplings across the city through these meetings.
The government, he added, has set a target of planting and distributing 64 lakh saplings this year to expand the green cover in the city. “Wherever we are going, we are distributing plants,” he said.
So far, Vikas Sabhas have been completed in almost half of the assembly seats in Delhi.
In 2015 and 2020, the elections in the city were held in February while the notification was issued in January. All the 70 seats across the city went for single-phase polling.
