Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to head to Tihar Jail around 3 pm as his interim bail in the Delhi liquor policy case ended on June 1. Kejriwal said he was grateful to the Supreme Court for granting him a 21-day interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.
Sharing his itinerary, the Delhi CM in a post on X (formally Twitter) wrote that he would visit Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at Rajghat and the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place before surrendering to Tihar Jail authorities.
Ahead of his surrender, Kejriwal on June 1 held a meeting of the AAP’s political affairs committee at his residence. During the meeting, Kejriwal stressed the need to maintain unity among AAP leaders in his absence, PTI reported. The Delhi CM later attended a meeting of the INDIA bloc to discuss performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting was held as exit polls predicted another clean sweep by the BJP in the national capital in the Lok Sabha polls. The India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicted 6-7 seats for the BJP and 0-1 seats for the AAP-Congress alliance in Delhi.
The India Today-Axis My India also predicted a mammoth 361-401 seats for the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The INDIA bloc, on the other hand, will have to settle with 131-166, according to Axis My India.
Last week, the AAP chief approached the Supreme Court seeking a seven-day extension of the interim bail on medical grounds. Kejriwal claimed he needed time to undergo medical tests as he was losing weight and was having high ketone levels.
However, the Supreme Court registry refused an urgent listing of his plea.
Kejriwal then moved the special CBI-ED court seeking interim bail. The court has reserved its order for June 5.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed Kejriwal’s bail extension plea, arguing that the AAP chief campaigned throughout the elections and did not exhibit any health issues.
The ED had arrested the AAP chief on March 21 over corruption allegations in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. The agency believes the Delhi CM played a key role in drafting the policy and seeking bribes in return for liquor licences. The agency claimed the AAP received kickbacks of Rs 100 crore that were used to fund its Goa and Punjab election campaigns.