Image used for representational purposes. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal addressing a press conference at AAP HQ in New Delhi on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) defeat in the Delhi assembly election is a turning point in Indian right wing politics. It marks the end, at least for now, of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) covert dalliance with an activist-turned-politician who grew into a formidable adversary to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In fact, it is likely the last time that the RSS would invest in a non-BJP outfit on the national stage. To understand it, we have to go to the roots of RSS’s ambitions and opportunistic collaborations of the past 75 years or so. 

To be sure, from 1980, when the BJP was born with Gandhian Socialism as its ideological credo until 1989 when it was born again, baptising itself in the Hindutva wave of the late eighties, the party remained the prodigal child for the RSS. In fact, for the most part of the decade, the Sangh was besotted with the Congress, even considering Rajiv Gandhi as its chosen one for a brief while. 

The Roots

The beginning of Sangh’s involvement in mainstream electoral politics is generally marked to be in 1951 when Syama Prasad Mookerji founded the Jan Sangh with its help. Balasaheb Deoras, RSS chief from 1973 to 1994, has said the organisation acutely felt the need for political ears when it was banned following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. It required elected representatives to speak for it in hostile legislatures and Parliament. Deoras was keen that RSS swayamsevaks join all political parties. The ideal proposition was they would be working in different parties during the day and attending shakhas together in the evening.

The Sangh’s aspiration was never limited to becoming the biggest organisation in the country but to be an all-encompassing, omnipresent one, with people trained in its nursery leading every aspect of national life. Explaining founder KB Hedgewar’s target of training 3% of the urban and 2% of the rural populations in the Sangh ideology, Deoras’s predecessor, MS Golwalkar, once said: “When Doctorji talked about one percent in the rural areas, he meant one capable of leading the remaining ninety-nine.”

A Coveted Instrument

That’s the reason why the RSS had its eyes set on the Congress Party and the genesis of the raging rivalry between the two. The pre-1947 Congress Party was the Big Tent of Indian politics. After Independence, it slowly broke up, with Communist outfits, socialists and Hindu nationalists exiting with big chunks of it over the next few decades. The Jan Sangh, and later the BJP, not only appealed to the majority Hindus but also were inimical to minorities. This is not to say that the RSS wanted all of them conjoined in a political set up with equal rights and powers, but merely that if it managed to take control of the largest and most diverse outfit of the time, the Congress, it could achieve its goals quicker. Holding the ideological reins of the party in power, it could dictate the rules of political and social engagement in a young country. 

While the RSS plays down Golwalkar’s political forays because of its constitutional commitment (written to abide by a condition to lift its 1948 ban) to stay away from politics, he did make several attempts. In 1937, Golwalkar himself contested for the post of general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha when it held organisation elections for the first time, and despite GD Savarkar’s backing, lost to Indraprakash. He tried to get entry for RSS volunteers into the Congress but was thwarted by Jawaharlal Nehru. He again reportedly tried this after Nehru’s death, appealing to Lal Bahadur Shastri, Gulzarilal Nanda, MC Chagla and Swaran Singh to let RSS men into key organisational positions, but to no avail. Golwalkar then used the cow as an instrument of political mobilisation as he himself confessed to Verghese Kurien, India’s milkman. It did not deliver immediate political dividends but ended up creating much mayhem in the Capital. It did, however, help Jan Sangh gain political space in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

In the post-Emergency and post-liberalisation periods, the RSS aligned with Socialist and Marxist parties. It stood in opposition to Manmohan Singh’s economic reforms, the entry of multinational corporations and computerisation, issues that took attention away from Hindutva and Mandal politics.

Struggle With Power

The political calibration and opportunistic alliances continued until the first BJP-led government was in power with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister, not the person the RSS really wanted in charge. The RSS and the BJP were in their adversarial phase after the government fell and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by Manmohan Singh, came to power in 2004. Some enraged Sangh leaders even suggested severing ties with the BJP and floating a new party. Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, was yet to get RSS backing for a national role. The gradual patch-up between the then rising Gujarat stalwart and RSS began only in 2008, but the latter was already preparing the groundwork to unseat the Congress-led UPA government, which was going after its leaders.

Simultaneously, the Sangh identified corruption and black money stashed abroad as key issues to corner the Manmohan Singh regime. It covertly backed the newly minted Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal to lead that fight. While officially, the RSS kept its hands off Kejriwal’s anti-corruption movement, its volunteers mobilised support for agitations from all over the country. In private conversations with BJP leaders, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat even held up Kejriwal and his anti-corruption stand as an example of probity in public life worthy of emulation.

Kejriwal, The ‘Neutral’ Politician

Kejriwal eventually transformed his agitation into a political party and himself into a politician, promising to use power to uplift Delhi’s lot. Although the RSS did not officially back him, many in the organisation continued to view him with admiration, and this is said to have converted to quiet electoral support too, which partly accounted for the vote swing between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. He became arguably the only major politician in the country projecting ideological neutrality; spouting Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Inquilab Zindabad in the same breath. He unhesitatingly embraced Jai Shriram, wore a skull cap at Iftar parties, recited the Hanuman Chalisa on national television, and alluded to himself as an avatar born on Lord Krishna’s birthday. 

While Kejriwal adopted Hindutva lite, a chasm emerged between the RSS and the BJP, which peaked during the Lok Sabha elections when party president JP Nadda said the party didn’t need the RSS anymore. Kejriwal lost no time in indirectly making a pitch for support to the RSS. A BJP-RSS patch-up has been, however, under way. While some sections of the RSS are still miffed with the BJP, the organisation is back at work on the ground and BJP leaders are nodding in acknowledgement. RSS volunteers worked alongside BJP cadres in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. Prime Minister Modi tweeted about Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijaydashami speech last year, something he had not done for almost a decade. Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra is inducting RSS volunteers as ministerial staff across the government. 

On his part, Kejriwal is not one to give up. He is likely to focus on making inroads in new political territories, perhaps in the South. Meanwhile, with major irritants out of the way in the North, the Sangh Parivar united again, and major state governments under its thumb, project Hindu Rashtra is about to shift gears.

(Dinesh Narayanan is a Delhi-based journalist and author of ‘The RSS And The Making Of The Deep Nation’.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP lost six MLAs today, just five days before Delhi election

New Delhi:

A team of Delhi Police and Election Commission officials entered Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s city residence Thursday evening to investigate “a complaint of money distribution”.

This comes less than a week before the Delhi Assembly election.

Sources said the cops and poll officers – held outside Kapurthala House, near Connaught Place in central Delhi for nearly 90 minutes before being allowed inside – were video-recording their search.

Earlier, visuals from outside the building showed uniformed security personnel, with assault rifles, outside the main gate. Shortly afterwards the Returning Officer for the New Delhi constituency, OP Pandey, said a complaint had been received – on its cVIGIL mobile app – about money distribution.

“We have to dispose of the complaint within 100 minutes. Our team had come (but) was not allowed to enter. I have come to request them to let us enter… with a cameraperson,” he said.

#WATCH | Delhi | A team of Delhi Police officials are present outside Kapurthala House, where a team of Delhi election officials are present following a complaint about cash distribution was received on cVIGIL app

Delhi Police says, “On a complaint by RO (Returning Officer) and… pic.twitter.com/kuOxmqHNRN

— ANI (@ANI) January 30, 2025

Furious AAP Responds

Responding on X, Mr Mann accused the Delhi Police and Election Commission of “defaming Punjabis at the behest of the BJP”. “Today, an Election Commission team with Delhi Police came to raid my house… Kapurthala House in Delhi. BJP people are openly distributing money in Delhi, but Delhi Police and Election Commission are not seeing anything. No action is being taken on all this.”

AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal has also reacted, telling reporters, “I don’t understand this… it is BJP leaders who are distributing cash and other items, but the raid is being conducted on Punjab Chief Minister…”

Chief Minister Atishi also, in response to the search over alleged ‘cash-for-votes’, alleged numerous similar violations by the BJP had been ignored by the Election Commission.

दिल्ली पुलिस @BhagwantMann जी के दिल्ली के घर पर रेड करने पहुँच गई है।

भाजपा वाले दिन दहाड़े पैसे, जूते, चद्दर बांट रहे हैं- वो नहीं दिखता। बल्कि एक चुने हुए मुख्यमंत्री के निवास पर रेड करने पहुँच जाते हैं।

वाह री भाजपा! दिल्ली वाले 5 तारीख़ को जवाब देंगे!

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) January 30, 2025

She referred to a letter, sent to the poll body this morning, claiming distribution of money and liquor, in large quantities, in her constituency, i.e., Kalkaji. She also claimed a resident had been “threatened with dire consequences (by) people carrying guns… and seen roaming with a Delhi Police constable”.

“BJP people distribute money, shoes… in broad daylight. That is not visible. Instead, they raid the residence of an elected Chief Minister,” she raged online after cops turned up at Mr Mann’s home.”

“Wow BJP! Delhi will give its answer on the 5th.”

‘Punjab Government’ Car?

The exact nature of the complaint is not known at this time, but there are reports that indicate it stems from last night’s seizure of a car parked outside Punjab Bhavan on Copernicus Marg.

Sources told NDTV around Rs 8 lakh in cash, liquor, and AAP pamphlets were found in the car, which also had a ‘Government of Punjab’ sticker on it. The Punjab government said the car is not theirs.

READ | ‘Punjab Sarkar’ Car With Cash, Liquor Seized, State Responds

It was pointed out the number plate of the seized vehicle matched a Ford Eco Sport used by the state, but the vehicle in police custody now is a Hyundai Creta. Delhi Police have registered a case.

Delhi Election 2025

The national capital’s 70 Assembly seats vote in a single phase on February 5.

The results will be declared three days later. The AAP is bidding for a hat-trick of wins after dominant shows in the 2015 and 2020 polls, when they swept 67 and 62 seats, respectively.

READ | Poll Panel Raps Kejriwal In “Yamuna Poisoned” Row, He Hits Back

This time, though, a much closer contest is expected, with the ruling party and the opposition BJP squabbling over a number of issues, including allegations by the former that the latter’s government in neighbouring Haryana had “poisoned” Yamuna River water it sends to Delhi.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Shortly after former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed the Election Commission has removed Punjab Police and deployed Gujarat Police in the National Capital Territory, top sources in Delhi Police have provided a clarification.

The sources said 220 companies of security personnel were received in Delhi, including those from the CRPF, BSF, SSB, ITBP, CISF and RPF. Further, 70 companies were also deployed from Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh Police. These companies were received in Delhi in three phases, which included the deployment of seven to eight companies of Gujarat Police.

Sources clarified that the deployment came after 250 companies were demanded to maintain law and order as the February 5 Assembly polls near. These companies will conduct tasks like flying squads, interstate border checking, area domination, and security at critical polling stations. Further, they will also serve at counting centres and as quick response teams.

A response was awaited from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Police, with farmers’ protest ongoing in the first two states, while the Maha Kumbh is ongoing in Prayagraj, the sources said.

Mr Kejriwal raised questions on the deployment of eight companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) from Gujarat. The SRPF companies reached Delhi on January 13 as per the order of the Election Commission (EC), Commandant SRPF, Bhachau, Tejas Patel said on Saturday.

Punjab’s Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the state police component deployed for Kejriwal’s security was withdrawn following directions from the Delhi Police and the Election Commission.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, meanwhile, hit back at Kejriwal over his lack of awareness regarding the poll body’s norms. “Now I understand why people call you a fraud. Kejriwal ji, as a former Chief Minister, I’m surprised you’re not aware of the Election Commission’s norms,” Sanghavi stated in his post.

“They’ve requested forces from various states, not just Gujarat. In fact, the Election Commission of India has ordered SRP deployment from various states, a routine procedure. As per their request, 8 companies of SRP from Gujarat were sent to Delhi for the scheduled election on 11/1/25. Why the selective mention of Gujarat, Kejriwal ji?” he added.

Polling for all 70 assembly seats in Delhi will be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.

The battle to woo the middle class has heated up in poll-bound Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in its bid to win over this section of voters, has listed seven demands for the Centre to consider in the upcoming Budget: increase the education budget from 2% to 10%; cap private schools fees and provide subsidies and scholarships for higher education; hike the health budget to 10% and remove health insurance tax; raise the income tax exemption limit from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh; abolish GST on essential items; frame comprehensive retirement plans for senior citizens and provide them with free treatment; and, restore the discount given to senior citizens in railways (a popular provision, now abandoned).

A Middle Class Manifesto

Traditionally, the middle class in India has been a loyal supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nationally. In Delhi, however, while it backs the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, in state elections, it tends to side with the AAP. However, this time around, it won’t be surprising if the BJP manages to make a dent in the AAP’s middle-class vote bank, thanks to the alleged liquor scam and the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ controversy. The AAP’s budget demands should be seen in this light—as pre-emptive measures to win over the middle class, reeling under high inflation and taxes. It’s a win-win for the party either way: if these demands are eventually reflected in the Union Budget, it will give the party a chance to claim credit, and in case that doesn’t happen, it gets a stick to beat the BJP with. “Some poll promises are made for the underprivileged classes, and some for a few industrialists. On the grounds of caste and religion, other parties have created a vote bank. And they need donations from industrialists, so they are the note bank. Between this vote bank and note bank, a large section is sandwiched. This is India’s middle class,” AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday. 

To be sure, the AAP has already implemented in Delhi the first and third of its list of demands. In 2023-24, the spending on education in the capital was 24.3%, as against an average of 14.7% in other states; the health spending in the same year was 13.8%, significantly more than India’s state average of 6.2%.

Shifting Priorities

The middle class accounts for 45% of Delhi’s population, higher than the national average of 31%. The state’s per capita income is the highest in the country and twice the national average. The middle class was one of the first backers of the AAP and its anti-corruption campaign. According to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies’ (CSDS) post-poll data, more than half (53%) of the voters from this section backed the AAP in 2020, while 39% voted for the BJP. In contrast, in the 2024 general election, 50% of the middle class backed the BJP, while 32% voted for the AAP (a gain of 11 percentage points for the BJP since the 2020 state polls, and a loss of 21 percentage points for the AAP). Meanwhile, the Congress, which was in alliance with the AAP in this election, got 16% of middle-class votes. This means that almost a quarter of middle-class voters in Delhi keep swinging between the BJP, the Congress and the AAP. As much as 6% of the AAP’s 15% lead over the BJP in 2020 could be attributed to the middle class.

In the assembly election due next month, AAP hopes that its claims of providing the “cheapest” electricity, free water and mohalla clinics will see it through. It has also been targeting the BJP for doing “lip service” to the middle class’s needs. On the other hand, the BJP has been attacking the very core of AAP’s ‘clean’ image by playing up the two scandals that have rocked the party in the state. 

Growing Discontent

It’s not going to be easy for the AAP. To win this time, it will have to lure back around 10-11% of middle-class voters who had swung towards the BJP in last year’s Lok Sabha elections. Its middle-class manifesto is an attempt not just to attack the BJP but also to position itself as a national party representing India’s middle class. Already, a large section of the population has been clamouring for lower taxes. Even in the national polls, the BJP’s share of middle-class support shrunk by 3 percentage points compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, while the Congress’s rose marginally. Before every Budget, there are rumblings about how the middle class has been milked by successive governments. A high inflation rate of 5.7% in the last five years coupled with slow wage growth across sectors has added to the discontent. 

(Amitabh Tiwari is a political strategist and commentator. In his earlier avatar, he was a corporate and investment banker.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

New Delhi:

The Delhi High court pulled up the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government over a delay in placing before the Assembly Speaker a report by the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) on the ongoing liquor scam, which resulted in the arrests of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior leader Manish Sisodia. 

“The way you’ve been dragging your feet is something unfortunate. You should’ve been prompt in sending it (reports) to the Speaker and having a discussion at the floor of the assembly,” the court told the Delhi government.

Justice Sachin Datta added, “The delay in sending the reports to the Lieutenant Governor and your handling of the matter raises doubts about your bona fides.”

The court also posted the plea by BJP MLAs, including Vijender Gupta, seeking a special session of the Delhi Assembly for later today, but also said, “We are at a stage that the elections are around the corner. How can there be a special session now?”

The report on the Delhi government’s excise policy revealed a revenue loss of Rs 2,026 crore to the state exchequer. The report’s findings stated that there were deviations from the objective of the policy, a lack of transparency in pricing, and violations in issuing licenses that were not penalised.

Of the losses worth Rs 2,026 crore to the state exchequer, the loss of Rs 890 crore resulted from the government’s failure to re-tender the surrendered licenses before the policy period concluded, according to the report. Moreover, exemptions granted to the zonal licenses led to the loss of Rs 941 crore.

“The department was issuing licenses without checking various requirements relating to excise rules and terms and conditions for the issue of different types of licenses. It was observed that licenses were issued without ensuring solvency, submission of audited financial statements, submission of data regarding sales and wholesale price declared in other states and across the year, verification of criminal antecedents from the competent authority, etc.,” the executive summary of the CAG report read.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday, however, questioned the origins of the CAG report in question, which revealed a significant revenue loss of Rs 2,026 crore due to irregularities in the Delhi government’s excise policy. He asserted that the Model Code of Conduct is in place and the BJP is “violating” the regulations by spreading fake news.

Earlier, the Delhi Assembly Secretariat had informed the court that tabling the CAG reports on city administration in the Assembly would serve no useful purpose, given that its tenure ends in February. The submission was made in response to a petition by seven BJP MLAs regarding the issue of tabling the CAG reports in the Assembly.

This came after the Delhi High Court sought responses from the Delhi Government, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and other respondents regarding a petition filed by BJP MLAs seeking a special Assembly session to present 14 CAG reports. The Delhi government had informed the court that all 14 reports had been sent to the Speaker.

With the Delhi Assembly polls set to be held on February 5, the exchanges  between AAP and BJP have become heated up, with the latter attacking the former over Mr Kejriwal’s ‘Sheesh Mahal’ residence. The BJP referred to CAG findings suggesting that the renovation cost of the CM house was raised from Rs 8 crore to Rs 32 crore due to corruption.

Last year, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva’s dip in the Yamuna to highlight an alleged Rs 8,500 crore scam in the river cleaning project took a wrong turn when he developed skin allergies.

New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded Saurabh Bhardwaj from the Greater Kailash (GK) seat in the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for February 2025. Mr Bharadwaj, a three-time MLA, is the minister for health, urban development, water and industries in Delhi.

Five facts about Saurabh Bharadwaj:

1) Saurabh Bhardwaj was born and raised in Delhi. He is a computer science engineer and a law graduate from Osmania University. Mr Bhardwaj’s political journey began in 2013 when he was first elected to the Delhi Assembly from the Greater Kailash seat. He was entrusted with several crucial portfolios, including food & supply, transport and environment in what was a 49-day government led by Arvind Kejriwal.

2) In the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, Mr Bhardwaj defeated BJP’s Rakesh Kumar Gullaiya. He was not retained as a cabinet minister during Arvind Kejriwal’s first full five-year term as the Delhi Chief Minister.

3) The engineer-turned-politician remained a prominent face in AAP, representing the party as a spokesperson during television debates. In May 2017, on the floor of the Delhi Assembly, Saurabh Bhardwaj used an electronic voting machine (EVM) prototype to demonstrate they could be hacked using a “secret code”. The legislator showed how votes cast for AAP could purportedly be transferred to the BJP. While these claims stirred significant debate, they were ultimately refuted by the Election Commission. Mr Bhardwaj and his party called EVMs a “threat to democracy” and pushed for greater transparency in the electoral process.

4) In 2020, Mr Bhardwaj was re-elected from GK for the third time. He defeated BJP’s Shikha Roy by a margin of 16809 votes. On March 9, 2023, Mr Bhardwaj was sworn in as a Minister in the Delhi government after the resignation of Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption and money laundering cases. He has since been in charge of health, urban development, water and industries.

5) In October 2024, an FIR was filed against Saurabh Bhardwaj and three AAP MLAs following a row over the reinstatement of bus marshals. The complaint was made by Leader of Opposition, Vijender Gupta, accusing the AAP MLAs of misbehaviour. The incident occurred after BJP MLAs submitted a memorandum on the issue.