New Delhi:

Battlelines are drawn after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged liquor policy scam, with his Aam Aadmi Party calling nationwide protests outside the BJP offices.

The Supreme Court is likely to take up today Mr Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest, a day after it denied an urgent hearing in his plea against the raids. The probe agency, meanwhile, will produce the Chief Minister in an ED court.

Mr Kejriwal’s arrest, just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, has unleashed waves of protest by thousands of party workers and condemnation from the Opposition camp. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will also visit Mr Kejriwal’s family today, said sources,

Read | Explained: Why Enforcement Directorate Arrested Arvind Kejriwal

The AAP has said that Mr Kejriwal will continue to discharge his chief ministerial duties from jail – a prospect that may create a constitutional crisis, legal experts have said.

The Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating a money laundering angle in the alleged liquor policy scam, had called Mr Kejriwal a “conspirator”.

The probe team turned up at Mr Kejriwal’s home last evening with a search warrant after he skipped nine summonses by the central agency. Later in the day, the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest.

Read | AAP Says Arvind Kejriwal Will Remain Chief Minister. How Feasible Is That?

The agency arrested him around 9 pm after a search and questioning session and took him to the ED office. His and his wife’s phones were also confiscated and data was transferred from two tablets and a laptop at his home. Mr Kejriwal spent the night in an ED lock-up after a medical check-up from the RML hospital, sources said.

Delhi minister Atishi has called the arrest a “conspiracy by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi” and said Mr Kejriwal will remain the Delhi Chief Minister. “We have said from the beginning that he will run the government from jail if need be. He has not been convicted… No law stops him from doing so,” she said in Hindi.

At a post-midnight press conference, AAP called a nationwide protest against the BJP on Friday. In Delhi, the protest will take place outside the BJP headquarters.

Mr Kejriwal’s arrest comes less than a week after BRS leader K Kavitha was taken into custody in the liquor policy case. Mr Kejriwal was named as a conspirator for the first time after Ms Kavitha’s arrest.

Aam Aadmi Party has so far released the names of 45 candidates for polls in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh.
| Photo Credit: Photo: X/@AamAadmiParty

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has released its fourth list of 12 candidates for the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections scheduled next month.

With this, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has so far released the names of 45 candidates for polls in the Congress-ruled State. Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17.

“Announcement. Fourth list of candidates for the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections is here. All the best to all candidates. Is baar chalegi jhadu (this time broom will sweep). #ChhattisgarhMangeKejriwal,” the AAP said on X on October 22, while posting the list.

Editorial | Forest pitch: On the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections

Out of these 12 seats, six are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates and one is for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

The AAP tried its luck for the first time in the 2018 Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh and fielded candidates in 85 out of the total 90 seats, but failed to open its account in the State.

The candidates announced in the fourth list are – Dev Ganesh Tekam (Samri-ST), Alexander (Lundra-ST), Munna Toppo (Sitapur-ST), Prakash Toppo (Jashpur-ST), Gopal Bapudia (Raigarh), Sobram Singh Saima (Pali-Tanakhar -ST), Parmeshwar Prasad Sandey (Janjgir-Champa), Neelam Dhruv (Khallari), Santosh Yadu (Baloda Bazar), Vijay Gurubaxani (Raipur North), Parmanand Jangde (Arang-SC) and Bhagirathi Manjhi (Bindranawagarh-ST).

The ruling Congress has announced candidates for all 90 seats, while the Opposition BJP has declared its candidates for 86 seats.