Hemant Soren, Tejashwi Yadav, Mamata Banerjee Next Targets: AAP MP Raghav Chadha On ED Summons To Arvind Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Raghav Chadha, strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday (1 November) for the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with an alleged excise policy scandal.

In a statement to the media, Raghav Chadha asserted that "BJP-associated agencies" were planning to apprehend Arvind Kejriwal. He mentioned that Delhi has seven Lok Sabha seats and speculated that if the INDI Alliance were to participate in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP might lose all seven Delhi seats. He suggested that this fear has driven the ruling party to consider arresting Kejriwal.

According to India Today, Chadha summarised the BJP's strategy as follows: "Arvind Kejriwal ko jail me daalo, 7 seat Delhi ki apni jeb me daalo (Put Arvind Kejriwal behind bars and secure all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi)."

Furthermore, Raghav Chadha indicated that the BJP's next target would be Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM chief Hemant Soren. He mentioned that Hemant Soren's popularity has been on the rise in Jharkhand since becoming Chief Minister, and Chadha predicted that the BJP, which won 14 out of 19 seats in Jharkhand in the 2019 general elections, may struggle to win even four seats in the state in 2024.

Chadha also pointed out that in Bihar, the BJP is eyeing RJD leader and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. He added that BJP agencies might also focus on West Bengal, where defeating Mamata Banerjee poses a significant challenge. If defeating her through electoral means appears unfeasible, Chadha suggested that the alternative could be to arrest Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek.

Chadha emphasised that the BJP's strategy seems to involve detaining top leaders or party presidents of the INDI Alliance, which would leave the BJP as the primary contender and likely winner.

"A strategy was formed along these lines in which BJP agencies are going to do the first arrest (of Kejriwal)," he added. Earlier, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh have already been arrested.

The AAP has claimed that the Enforcement Directorate plans to arrest Arvind Kejriwal on 2 November after questioning him. They believe that this potential arrest is not due to corruption charges but rather a response to Kejriwal's criticism of the BJP.

This marks the first time that Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED in connection with the alleged excise policy scandal, having been previously questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April.