THE ONE IN THE VORTEX

The AAP chief has had a dramatic year, including a stint in jail. All eyes are on him as the party fights a decisive battle to rule Delhi for a third consecutive term

- Avishek G. Dastidar

The year 2024 will stand as a critical inflection point in Arvind Kejriwal's political career in more ways than one. For, this is the year the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader—the man who was sworn to political hygiene as his original USP—found himself at the centre of a criminal investigation, making history for the wrong reasons as the first ever sitting CM to be jailed. By September, he had renounced the post that gave him his first administrative face, that of Delhi chief minister. And by November, out on bail, he had hit the streets again in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, in a bid to try and reenergise brand AAP.

When he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges related to the so-called liquor scam, that too just before the Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal sought to eke out what political advantage he could. His wife Sunitawent around constituencies with folded hands and sought “justice” for her husband. “They (the BJP-led Centre) have jailed him only because he has built schools and hospitals for Delhi,” Sunita said at every public meeting.