Do Gujarat, Punjab bypoll victories mark explosive return of Arvind Kejriwal?
Arvind Kejriwal was everywhere, then he was nowhere. It was as if the AAP chief had a distinct pre- and post-Delhi election era. After four months of remaining evasive from the public eye, this could be the very moment that Kejriwal, The Mufflerman who seemed to have unravelled, makes a comeback. Thanks to the victories in the bypolls in Gujarat and Punjab.advertisementThe question being asked by many now -- will Kejriwal become a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab? The path has been cleared though.Monday's twin victories revived hopes after a lull of four months. It was the February 2025 Delhi election that shocked the AAP as the state is the party's political nursery. That the angst remained was evident from the remarks of AAP's Delhi unit President Saurabh Bhardwaj, who termed the Delhi loss the BJP's "deceit", even as he heralded Kejriwal's return to national politics.
Results of the bypolls in five seats in four states were declared on Monday. While the BJP, Congress and the Trinamool Congress won one seat each, it was the AAP that managed to win two seats.The AAP secured massive victories in Punjab's Ludhiana West and Gujarat's Visavadar. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won Kerala's Nilambur, while the BJP managed to bag Gujarat's Kadi. The TMC is on course to retain Kaliganj in West Bengal.advertisementIt is the victory in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state where the BJP has been in power uninterrupted since 1998, that the AAP and its leaders showcased as the feather in the electoral cap."Now that's an Arvind Kejriwal-style comeback. A stellar victory for AAP's Gopal Italia in Modi's fortress Gujarat," the party posted on X after the results were declared.Like most parties in India do, the AAP was super-quick in laying the credit for the victory on Kejriwal's doorsteps."The credit goes to Arvind Kejriwal's policies, Bhagwant Mann government's work, the hard work of our workers and volunteers, and the decency of Sanjeev Arora [the candidate]," said Punjab AAP president and state minister Aman Arora.Four months in the political wilderness must have been a long time for Kejriwal, so used to being in the thick of things. Right from taking over the Jan Lokpal agitation of Anna Hazare in 2011 to launching the AAP as a political party to taking oath as Delhi CM thrice, to sidelining detractors, Kejriwal modelled the AAP in his own image.So, when the image received a setback with leader after leader, including himself, being sent to jail in corruption cases and a drubbing in the 2025 Delhi Assembly election, Kejriwal merged into the shadows.advertisementHowever, a politician like Kejriwal, nurturing national ambition, it was just a chance that was required for return.The bypoll election results in Punjab, and, more importantly, Gujarat, might have gifted him just that.Bhardwaj, a former Delhi minister, said Arvind Kejriwal was making an explosive re-entry into national politics."This loss in Gujarat's Visavadnagar is a big setback for the BJP, which won Delhi against the AAP with deceit. With this victory, Arvind Kejriwal is making an explosive re-entry into national politics," said Bhardwaj.Both Punjab and Gujarat will go to Assembly polls in 2027. While the AAP has a massive majority in Punjab -- the only state outside Delhi it was able to crack despite contesting in several -- the party stood third in Gujarat in 2022.Though AAP leaders are heralding a return for Kejriwal in national politics, the issue is that he will need a national platform to announce his comeback.That is what has sparked the buzz of Kejriwal entering the Rajya Sabha from Punjab.Sanjeev Arora of the AAP, who won from Ludhiana West on Monday by a margin of 11,000 votes, will most likely vacate his parliamentary seat now. He has 14 days to resign as an MP, else his election as the MLA stands cancelled.advertisementBJP leader Anurag Thakur had alleged earlier in June that Kejriwal wanted to get into the Rajya Sabha through Punjab and that was why Arora, an MP whose term as an MP extended till 2028, was fielded in the bypolls.Since the AAP's loss in Delhi, it had been increasingly speculated that Kejriwal would look for a role via Punjab. That seems to be a possible now with Arora being elected as an MLA.Arora's potential demotion to an MLA, giving up his MP post for a state legislator's role, might be sweetened with a plum ministry or even the Deputy CM's post.Will Arvind Kejriwal use the seat vacated by Arora for the Rajya Sabha entry? That is a question that will be answered in time, but in politics, nothing is impossible. The buzz has already intensified as AAP leaders announce the "spectacular comeback" of Kejriwal into national politics.Trending Reel
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