The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it Thursday for questioning in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam after he skipped the agency’s summonses thrice in the case earlier.

There were, however, clear indications from both the AAP and the Delhi government that Kejriwal is unlikely to appear before the ED this time too.

In fact, on Thursday, the AAP chief – along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, MP Raghav Chaddha and the party’s national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak – is heading off to Goa on a three-day tour to take stock of the party’s preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

At an event in Delhi on Wednesday, where he interacted with elderly pilgrims leaving for Dwarkadheesh in Gujarat, Kejriwal was asked by reporters about the ED’s fourth summons. “We will do whatever needs to be done according to the law,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed similar views. “He (Kejriwal) is clear that whatever he will do he will do in accordance with the law and the advice of the legal counsel,” Bharadwaj said.

Kejriwal had refused to depose before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing the Rajya Sabha polls and Republic Day preparations.

The CM had also questioned the motive behind the ED’s actions, citing legal “objections” to the summons and accusing the agency of assuming the role of “judge, jury and executioner”.

Earlier, the AAP chief was asked to appear by the ED on November 2 and December 21 last year, but he skipped it both times.

The AAP has repeatedly expressed apprehensions that Kejriwal could be arrested following his questioning by the ED. The party has alleged that the BJP has been “misusing” the central agencies to stop Kejriwal from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.

Kejriwal’s AAP colleagues – including former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former party communications in-charge Vijay Nair – had already been arrested in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy case. They have been in judicial custody for months.

Chandigarh mayoral polls

The AAP and the Congress have joined hands to take on the BJP in the Chandigarh mayoral polls to be held on Thursday.

The mayoral polls this time assume significance as the two Opposition INDIA bloc’s constituents – the AAP and the Congress – would face their first test, albeit on a small scale, against the formidable BJP, which has been winning this mayoral election for the last eight years.

The INDIA bloc has been formed by 28 Opposition parties to take on the BJP at the national level in the Lok Sabha elections.

Under the AAP-Congress deal for the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the AAP is fighting for the mayor’s seat while the Congress is contesting the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor.

Senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal and AAP leader Raghav Chadha met in Chandigarh to take stock of the situation on the eve of the polling and finalise their joint strategies.

Chadha said earlier that the INDIA bloc would “sweep” the Chandigarh mayoral polls and that it would be the “curtain raiser” for the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May.

The outcome of the mayoral elections would be closely watched as it might indicate how things might pan out in the proposed alliance between the two parties in states like Punjab and Delhi for the general elections.

The BJP currently has 14 councillors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. It also has an ex-officio member, MP Kirron Kher, who has voting rights.

The AAP has 13 councillors and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor in the House.

The Congress had abstained from voting in 2022 and 2023, leading to the BJP’s victory in the mayoral polls.

For the mayor, the BJP has fielded Manoj Sonkar while the AAP has nominated Kuldeep Kumar Tita. For the senior deputy mayor’s post, the contest will be between the BJP’s Kuljeet Sandhu and the Congress’ Gurpreet Singh Gabi.

For the deputy mayor’s post, the BJP has fielded Rajinder Sharma while the Congress party’s nominee is Nirmala Devi.

The elections for the three posts are held every year during the five-year term of the House. This year, the mayor’s seat has been reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) category.

The BJP has also exuded confidence that its candidates will clinch the polls.

Rahul Yatra in Assam

After a night-halt at Tuli in Nagaland, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will enter Assam on Thursday morning. On Wednesday, Rahul spoke of finding a solution to the Naga issue.

Addressing a public rally in Nagaland’s Mokokchung town, Rahul spoke of the Naga peace talks.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “If you don’t have a solution, you should not lie and say you have a solution. You can say that we have to work towards the solution and we will work towards the solution but you must not lie to the Naga people.”

Referring to the Framework Agreement which the PM signed with Naga insurgency groups, the NSCN-IM, in 2015, Rahul said, “What the Prime Minister promised nine years ago is an empty vow to the Naga people.” He also asserted that the Congress was committed to a solution to the decades-old Naga political issue.

Claiming that an ideological war was going on in India, the Congress leader alleged that the RSS and BJP were attacking various cultures and religions in the country. “As Indians, everyone should respect each other’s tradition, culture, food habits and religious practices, but the RSS and BJP are attacking them and disrespecting them,” he said.