Arvind Kejriwal in prison: For many politicians before him, jail has been no bar

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last Thursday, has refused to resign from his post and is communicating with his ministers on matters of governance from custody.

While how the Delhi CM’s arrest will impact the party’s chances in the upcoming polls is something time will tell, here are a few examples of leaders who have won polls while in jail and of others whose incarceration had an impact on the performance of their parties.

Lalu Prasad

In 1997, the CBI chargesheeted then Bihar CM Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam case. Facing a revolt within the Janata Dal over the allegations, Lalu floated the Rashtriya Janata Dal and resigned as CM, leaving the reins of the government to his wife Rabri Devi. He was then arrested by the CBI and spent 135 days in jail.

In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections which followed months after his imprisonment, Lalu won as an MP from Madhepura. The same year, he was again jailed in connection with the same case, and lost in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls from Madhepura seat.

But a year later, in the 2000 Assembly polls held in a then undivided Bihar, the RJD won 124 of the 293 seats and formed the government. Rabri remained the CM, with an incarcerated Lalu’s generous help.

J Jayalalithaa

In December 1997, after the AIADMK had lost power in Tamil Nadu, party chief and former CM J Jayalalithaa was arrested by police in connection with a case of alleged irregularities in the purchase of colour TVs for village panchayats. Months after her arrest, the AIADMK won 18 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls.

In the next year’s Lok Sabha polls, the party was reduced to 10 seats, but stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu in the 2001 Assembly elections,