Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh was released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the Delhi excise policy case.
The AAP MP was received by party workers who were gathered to greet him outside Tihar Jail. After his release, Singh left for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence where he met his wife Sunita.
After coming out of jail, Sanjay Singh, who was in prison since October 2023, said it was “not a time for celebrate, but to put up a strong fight against the "dictator government".
"They want to break the AAP...'Tanashahi macha rakhi hai desh ke andhar'...I was in jail for six months, and every worker, and leader of AAP is standing with Arvind Kejriwal," Sanjay Singh said in first speech after getting released.
Sanjay Singh's release comes at a crucial time for several reasons. First, top AAP leaders- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and former minister Satyendar Jain are in jail and secondly, the party continues to struggle with a leadership crisis ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
Sanjay Singh's Political Career
Sanjay Singh is a Member of the Political Affairs Committee and National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party, as per the party's website.
He has been a Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi since January 2018 and the party's strong voice in the Parliament. He has held the position of national spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party.
The 52-year-old leader from UP’s Sultanpur has been significant behind AAP's growth in Punjab and AAP's civic polls campaign in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. He has also been the party's state-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan.
While, other AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, were removed as ministers from the AAP government in Delhi, Sanjay Singh was renominated as the MP from prison earlier in January.
Singh's release has come as a shot in the arm to the party's morale, which was in jitters following Kejriwal's arrest.
Will Sanjay Singh's Bail Help AAP?
Sanjay Singh has been known for his association with AAP ever since party's origin and has been crucial in expanding it outside of the national capital. He has been a vehement critic of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Even before his arrest last year, Sanjay Singh released a video message before leaving his house where he had said that he would continue to raise his voice against corruption in the face of atrocities. He even claimed that PM Modi will lose badly in the upcoming elections.
Hours after his release on Wednesday, the AAP leader renewed his attack on BJP claiming the party wants to get AAP leaders, including Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Raghav Chadha arrested.
Known for his creative mind, impactful slogans and crafting campaign songs, the AAP MP has an ear to the ground and resonates with the common voters.
Sanjay Singh's bail will give a morale boost to the party as the Supreme Court said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not produced any evidence so that it could prolong his detention.
His release is also expected to ease pressure on AAP leaders, including Delhi Minister Atishi and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, who have been holding the fort following Kejriwal's arrest.
Following his release, it is expected that Singh would steer the party's campaign for the Lok Sabha polls and bridge the gap between Kejriwal's party and I.N.D.I.A allies, including Congress.