Today marks the end of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail in a corruption case involving the Delhi liquor policy. He will return to Tihar jail. The Supreme Court had given Mr. Kejriwal temporary bail so he could run in the Lok Sabha elections, but a day after the final round of voting, the court ordered him to turn himself in.
The 55-year-old has also requested bail from a Delhi court; however, he will have to go back to jail until the petition is heard on June 5.
The AAP leader has declared that he will surrender at 3 p.m. and leave his home.
“The day after tomorrow, I will leave my house around 3 pm to surrender. We are fighting against tyranny, and if I have to sacrifice my life for the country, do not mourn,” Mr Kejriwal said in a public address.
The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Mr Kejriwal on March 21 over corruption allegations in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy.
The probe agency believes that the Delhi Chief Minister played a key role in drafting the policy and seeking bribes in return for liquor licences. The agency has claimed the AAP received kickbacks of ₹ 100 crore that were then used to fund its Goa and Punjab election campaigns.
The AAP and Mr Kejriwal have refuted all charges and called the arrest and case “political vendetta”, coming as it did, weeks before the election.
After receiving an interim bail order from the Supreme Court on May 10 to campaign for the elections, the AAP chief staged a series of rallies across the nation.
An opposition INDIA alliance led by Mr. Kejriwal was established to challenge the BJP-led government in the 2024 elections.
Over the course of six weeks, there were seven voting phases. The results will be announced on June 4.
The NDA, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to win for a third time in a row, according to exit polls. On the upper end of the ranges provided by two polls, the NDA is expected to win by little over 400 points.