Is there more to BJP-AAP animosity in Delhi than meets the eye?

On February 26, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Manish Sisodia, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the now-withdrawn excise policy 2021-22 in the National Capital Territory. With his arrest, the old accusation regarding the ruling BJP weaponising Central agencies to its advantage is doing the rounds again.

Prashant Bhushan, senior Supreme Court lawyer and former leader of the AAP, was quick to point out that Sisodia’s arrest is an instance of “how the Modi government misuses the agencies to topple governments, induce defections and harass the opposition”. He tweeted out a list of similar incidents in the past: “Narayan Rane accused of 300 crore money laundering racket is a Union minister. Probe stopped after he joined BJP. Suvendu Adhikari, accused in Narada scam. Probe stopped after he joined the BJP. Himanta Biswa Sarma, accused in bribery scandal. Probe stopped after he joined BJP. Bhavna Gawli, MP Shinde Sena, skipped five ED summons, now chief whip of Shinde Sena in Lok Sabha. Yashwant Jadhav and MLA Yamini Jadhav—couple under ED probe for FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) violation. Now with Shinde Sena. What happened to the case? Pratap Sarnaik, raided by ED in money laundering case when he was with Shiv Sena, now with Shinde Sena. Case closed. BS Yediyurappa, accused in a bribery case in a housing project in Bangalore Development Authority. Lokayukta police filed FIR, Karnataka High Court restored a private complaint against him. Felicitated by PM.”

The CBI brings Manish Sisodia to Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi on February 27, 2023. | Photo Credit: ANI

Delhi Chief Minister and the AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal quipped on March 1: “If Manish Sisodia joins BJP today, won’t he be released tomorrow?”; Sisodia resigned on February 28. The power tussle between the AAP-led Delhi government and the BJP-led Central government was also evident during the recent mayoral election to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The MCD was forced to postpone the election due on January 6, January 24, and February 6 because of hostility between the Delhi government and the Centre. The AAP candidate won the election on February 22. Four days later, the CBI arrested Sisodia.

Liquor controversy

However, there might be more to the animosity between the BJP and the AAP than meets the eye. Some political observers believe that in all this the AAP is trying to overshadow the Congress as the principal opposition force. Congress leaders had mixed reactions to Sisodia’s arrest. While Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “The Congress has always held the belief that institutions like ED, CBI and Income Tax Department have become instruments of political vendetta and harassment under Modi Sarkar”, a leader from the Delhi Congress unit stated that Sisodia had been held in an open-and-shut case of corruption. Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary welcomed Sisodia’s arrest, saying that his party was the first to raise doubts over the controversial liquor sales policy. On June 3, 2022, in a complaint to the Commissioner of Police, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee had alleged a multi-crore scam in the now-withdrawn liquor policy, which allowed private vendors and shops to sell liquor or directly deliver it to the doorsteps.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena exchange greetings during Republic Day at Raj Niwas in New Delhi on January 24, 2023. | Photo Credit: ANI

“Several shell companies violating the terms and conditions of the policy have got licences in collusion with high level officials of the excise department and Ministers by ignoring the mandatory conditions,” the Congress complaint letter stated. Sisodia headed the excise department.

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Congress spokesperson Avani Bansal took a nuanced stand on the controversy, saying that Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into the excise policy after the Congress brought it to his notice in July 2022. She said that the excise policy could not have been revised without the approval of the MCD, which was under the control of the BJP and the Lieutenant Governor at that point. “Why are the BJP and the ED not taking action against the MCD authorities and the Lieutenant Governor?” Bansal asked.

Practical problems

If some former AAP members are to be believed, Satyendar Jain and Vijay Nair, another AAP leader arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the excise policy case, were the main fundraisers for the party in recent years. “Initially the AAP would raise funds through crowdsourcing but later it started exploring other options, similar to what other parties do,” said a former AAP member.

While Kejriwal has made his national ambitions clear, the fact remains that competing against the richest political party in India requires massive funds, which might not be at the AAP’s disposal. As such, it might be going for the second best alternative—working with the BJP towards a common cause: “Congress-mukt Bharat” (Congress-free India). Interestingly, in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when there were talks of a possible alliance between the AAP and the Congress to defeat the BJP, Kejriwal allegedly did a U-turn by refusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s offer to come together.

AAP and BJP councillors fight over the mayoral election at MCD House in New Delhi on February 24, 2023. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The AAP might have helped the BJP’s cause in other ways too. For instance, some allege that in the Gujarat Assembly election, it might have acted as a vote-cutter against the Congress, while in Himachal Pradesh it did not fight the election seriously since that could have damaged the BJP’s prospects and helped the Congress. In the event, the Congress won Himachal with a clear majority. This model of sabotage politics could play out on a bigger scale in the 2024 general election after making martyrs of a few AAP leaders.

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The suspicions about the AAP’s motives are stronger at this stage when the BJP is getting the jitters over the success of Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Even the prospect of the Congress emerging as the main opposition party in 2024 would be unpalatable to the BJP. In this scenario, the AAP’s rise could be beneficial to the BJP as it would threaten opposition unity. In fact, the AAP’s politics of soft Hindutva is seen as a complementary force to the RSS and the BJP against the Congress’ secularism.

Many believe that the AAP acts as the RSS’ Team B in enabling and disciplining the BJP. Notably, the AAP’s rise began with the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption campaign, which is said to have had the backing of the RSS and the BJP, and played a key role in ending the Congress’ 15 years of rule in Delhi and the United Progressive Alliance’s second tenure at the Centre.

Ideologically united

There are enough instances to suggest that the AAP and the RSS-BJP have ideological convergences. Although the AAP did not take a clear public stand on the issue of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens, it openly supported the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and its division into two Union Territories. There are occasions where the AAP has competed with the BJP in projecting itself as a better representative of the Hindu cause than the BJP. Many recall how Sisodia had parried media queries about the release of the men convicted in the Bilkis Bano case and the growing hate crimes against Muslims when he was on the campaign trail in Gujarat during the Assembly election. “We are rather focussing on education, jobs, and healthcare,” Sisodia had commented.

ALSO READ: ‘Our agenda is clear: hospitals and schools’

Addressing the media on March 1, Kejriwal drew an analogy between former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. “Jaise ek zamane mein Indira Gandhi ne ati kar di thi, aaj Pradhan Mantri ji ati kar rahe hain” (“Indira Gandhi had made excesses in the past, today the Prime Minister is doing the same”). As observers pointed out, Kejriwal, by using the honorific “ji” suffix for Modi, seemed polite and submissive towards the BJP and its leader while sounding belligerent towards Indira Gandhi and the Congress.

At the end of the day, the AAP-BJP tussle in Delhi might be a fixed match that is engineered to take the media focus and public attention away from the Congress.

The Crux

• With the arrest of former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Manish Sisodia, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the old accusation regarding the ruling BJP weaponising Central agencies to its advantage is doing the rounds again
• There might be more to the animosity between the BJP and the AAP in Delhi than meets the eye
• Observers suggest that the AAP is trying to overshadow the Congress as the principal opposition force
• The suspicions about the AAP’s motives are stronger at this stage when the BJP is getting the jitters over the success of Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
• The AAP-BJP tussle in Delhi might be a fixed match engineered to take the attention away from the Congress