‘I am back’: Out on interim bail, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to hold roadshow in national capital today

In a significant development for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the INDIA bloc's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and other states, Arvind Kejriwal is set to join the electoral rallies starting today, May 11.

Granted interim bail by the Supreme Court specifically for the purpose of participating in the elections, Kejriwal is wasting no time in hitting the campaign trail. He is scheduled to hold a roadshow in south Delhi on Saturday, alongside his Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann.

Kejriwal is expected to be the star campaigner for his party. During his absence, the party's Delhi state convener, Gopal Rai, and his cabinet colleagues, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi, had been filling in. While Kejriwal's wife Sunita's roadshows had been attracting audiences, they were unable to match the charisma that Kejriwal brings to his interactions with the public.

As a key member of the INDIA alliance, AAP has fielded 22 candidates across five states. The party is contesting four seats in Delhi in collaboration with the Congress, as well as two seats each in Gujarat and Assam, and one seat in Haryana. In Punjab, AAP is running independently and contesting all 13 seats.

While voting has concluded in Assam and Gujarat, Delhi and Chandigarh are set to go to polls on May 25, and Punjab on June 1. A senior party official revealed that Kejriwal is expected to focus on campaigning until May 23, the final day of campaigning for the sixth phase of elections. He may also visit Kurukshetra in Haryana. Following this, as Punjab heads to polls in the seventh phase on June 1, Kejriwal could potentially address rallies and participate in roadshows in the state.

In a bid to show solidarity with the INDIA bloc, Kejriwal may make intermittent visits to other states where the alliance partners are engaged in tough battles against the BJP, to lend his support through campaigning.