Arvind Kejriwal arrested: Will it unite INDIA bloc ahead of Lok Sabha polls 2024

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on March 22 sparked a unanimous condemnation from the leaders of the Opposition, most of them accusing Prime Minister and the (BJP) of vindictive misuse of central agencies.

Kejriwal, 55, was arrested weeks before the Lok Sabha elections 2024. His is contesting elections as part of the INDIA bloc, an amalgamation of opposition parties, putting up a united fight against the BJP in the upcoming general elections.

Kejriwal has joined the league of Opposition leaders arrested by central agencies in the recent past. Two of his former ministers - Manish Sisodia and - and a Rajya Sabha member from his party, Sanjay Singh, are also in jail.

In fact, Kejriwal is the second opposition chief minister to be arrested by the ED in the last two months. Former Jharkhand chief minister was arrested by the agency on January 31 in a different case. On March 15, K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and daughter of former Telangana chief minister , was also arrested by the ED over her alleged money laundering role in the same case.

The arrest of Kejriwal, a key figure of the INDIA bloc, came hours after the top leadership of Congress, the principal opposition party of the country, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of by freezing its bank accounts in connection with an ongoing tax dispute. It also comes on the heels of the release of State Bank of India-provided data on political donations made by companies and individuals through now-scrapped .

Unsurprisingly, the ruling BJP received the lion’s share of funds - ₹ 6,986.5 crore. The Opposition, which is also benefited from the donation, has focussed its attack on the allegation of ‘quid pro quo’