Decode Politics: Behind Kejriwal’s repeated trust vote moves, targeting BJP, House muscle-flexing

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday won the confidence motion that was tabled by him in the AAP-dominated Delhi Assembly, with 54 AAP MLAs who were present in the House voting in support of it.

The move can be seen as a show of strength on Kejriwal’s part amidst his allegations that the BJP was trying to poach the AAP legislators and topple his government.

Tabling the motion on Friday, Kejriwal termed it a “parliamentary manoeuvre”, even as he alleged that seven MLAs from his party were offered Rs 25 crore each to switch to the BJP. The rationale behind the motion, he argued, was “to demonstrate that once again, the BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ has faltered in Delhi”.

“None of our MLAs defected, and all remain steadfastly aligned with us,” the AAP supremo said.

House proceedings and implications

In the 70-member Delhi Assembly, the AAP has 62 MLAs.

The 54 AAP MLAs present in the House on Saturday voted for Kejriwal’s trust vote. Seven BJP MLAs in the House were suspended on Friday for allegedly creating ruckus. The only BJP MLA in the House during the discussion on the trust vote was Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the Leader of Opposition, with his voice being the only dissenting one.

The discussion on the confidence motion saw Kejriwal hit out at the BJP for allegedly seeking to “paralyse the city’s administration by arm-twisting bureaucrats into submission”, seeking to “buy AAP MLAs for Rs 25 crore each” and arrest him to topple the AAP government.

Kejriwal, whose party is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc and is engaged in seat-sharing talks with the Congress, also signalled the agenda for the AAP’s campaign against the BJP, which rules the Centre, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

At present, the AAP does not have a single