Will Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest be the Glue for INDIA Bloc Amid Seat-Sharing Chaos?

Will the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal give the INDIA bloc the much-needed shot in the arm? On the face of it, it seems so for now.

As news broke of his imminent arrest, most of the INDIA bloc allies spoke out for a change in one voice. Condemning the arrest, TMC chief whip Derek O’ Brien asked: “How can we expect fair elections if sitting chief ministers and prominent opposition leaders are arrested weeks before polls?”

The Congress, which has recently stitched up an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi hit the roads as TV screens flashed the news. Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely reached Kejriwal’s residence moments before the ED team took the Delhi CM. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra were amongst the first to attack the BJP. As Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Shiv Sena, PDP, SP and others joined in. Rahul Gandhi also met the chief minister’s family in a move being considered a show of strength.

The fact is that as soon as seat-sharing talks began, the fissures within the INDIA front became obvious. It was clear that the unlikely partners could not sink their differences. JDU quit the alliance, while Mamata Banerjee declared 42 candidates, refusing to do business with the Congress. The Samajwadi Party and AAP too talked tough and Congress had to bend for the sake of the alliance. Even over Wayanad and in Kerala, CPI and Congress seemed to be on a confrontation path.

However, what Congress’s Mumbai rally failed to do, could be achieved by Kejriwal. Though the front runs the risk of being called a coalition of corruption — as PM Modi has said repeatedly — it needed that one issue over which they all plan to put up a show of strength. Sources say many rallies as well as joint rallies are now being planned across the country.

Ironically, at one point, Kejriwal was labelled the B Team of the BJP by the Congress. There was an element of distrust and many felt he would dump them. Today, it’s the same Kejriwal who can be the glue to bring a warring opposition together. Possibly.