The bail granted to former Delhi deputy chief minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader could not have come at a better time and will act as a major shot in the arm for the party for two principal reasons, AAP leaders and experts said on Friday.
First, Sisodia will likely take over as the tallest figure in the party in the absence of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal; and second, it will allow the party to crank up its preparations under his guidance for the Delhi assembly polls scheduled to be held in the beginning of 2025, the leaders said.
AAP functionaries said the development will strengthen the party’s ongoing efforts to mobilise political support in favour of bail for Kejriwal, who has been in jail since March in the excise policy case. They added that it will also push the pending work in Delhi towards completion.
The AAP has been trying to turn the tide in its favour since the recent Lok Sabha elections, where its lacklustre performance failed to clinch even a single seat. It lost the four seats it contested to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The AAP has retained the state cabinet for two consecutive terms.
A senior AAP leader said the future course of political action was yet to be decided. “Soon, party leaders will sit to discuss the political situation and decide what role Sisodia will play in strengthening the AAP ahead of the assembly elections in Haryana and Delhi,” the leader said, asking not ton be named.
Sisodia also has a wealth of experience as a minister, which he shares in public meetings to describe the achievements of the AAP government. He also serves as a member of the party’s highest decision-making body — the Political Affairs Committee.
As one of the founding members of AAP, Sisodia is the second most-popular AAP leader after Kejriwal and is expected to play a key role in election strategy formulation and coordination with senior party leadership, a second AAP leader said.
A third-time MLA from the Patparganj assembly constituency in east Delhi, Sisodia is considered one of the most trusted associates of Kejriwal — the two have been associated since their activism days.
In 2010-11, Sisodia and Kejriwal were part of the crucial anti-corruption movement, which sowed the seeds for what would later become the Aam Aadmi Party.
