Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a swipe at the BJP today over “requests to join” the party, amid a row linked to allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader that the BJP has been trying to poach their MLAs.

The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has served notice to Mr Kejriwal and Delhi minister Atishi, asking them to give information on the allegations, given that the statements suggested they were “privy to certain information regarding commission of a cognisable offence”.

Mr Kejriwal, however, indicated his resistance to the BJP’s attack during a speech at the inauguration of a school building in Delhi’s Rohini.

“They can do whatever they want. Nothing will happen. I am not going to bow down to them. They say ‘come to BJP, we won’t trouble you’. No, not at all, I won’t join them. And what crime have we done that they need to pardon us?” Mr Kejriwal said.

“We have been working to improve schools, hospitals, clinics, roads… What’s wrong in that?” he added.

#WATCH | On laying the foundation stone of new school buildings in Kirari, Rohini, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says, “… They ask us to join BJP saying they’ll spare us. I said I would not join the BJP… We are doing nothing wrong.” pic.twitter.com/9Tfggh4P5M

— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024

Crime Branch officials served notice to Mr Kejriwal on Saturday, asking him to reply within three days in a probe into his claims that the BJP tried to poach seven AAP MLAs. The notice to Atishi was served today.

On January 27, Mr Kejriwal and Atishi had claimed the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs by offering Rs 25 crore each and a ticket to contest next year’s assembly election.

The BJP refuted the allegations, calling them “false” and “baseless”, and dared the Chief Minister to give evidence to back his claims. The police have approached senior AAP leaders seeking assistance with the names of the MLAs who were approached by the BJP.

The Crime Branch has told Mr Kejriwal and Atishi to respond to the notice by February 5.

“An enquiry is being conducted by Crime Branch, Delhi Police, on a complaint received in respect of the allegations made by you that BJP has offered Rs 25 crore each to sitting MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party for leaving AAP and to join the BJP. These allegations were posted by you on X (formerly Twitter) on January 27,” the notice stated.

“The plain reading of the said tweet indicates that you are privy to certain information regarding commission of a cognisable offence. Therefore, you are hereby requested to provide answers to the questionnaire enclosed herewith by February 5,” the notice stated.

Some 40 MLAs of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and its alliance partners are returning to the state today from Hyderabad to attend the floor test tomorrow.

The MLAs were kept in a resort near Hyderabad after JMM leader Champai Soren was appointed Chief Minister. His predecessor Hemant Soren, the son of JMM co-founder Shibu Soren, is in jail in an alleged corruption case.

The ruling JMM took the ‘resort politics’ route to prevent its MLAs from being ‘approached’ by rival parties for switching sides.

The ruling alliance in Jharkhand has five more MLAs from the majority mark of 41 in the 81-member assembly. One of the 81 seats is vacant, hence the majority mark of 41 when counted for 80 seats.

The JMM, Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Communist Party of India (ML) have a total of 46 MLAs. These are JMM (28), Congress (16), RJD (1), and CPI(ML) 1.

The BJP and allies have 29 MLAs.

Unless something drastic or a big twist happens, the JMM government will sail through the floor test, political analysts said.

This is not the first time the JMM is facing a floor test. In September 2022, Hemant Soren’s government won a majority test with 48 votes in his favour. Then too, Hemant Soren faced a threat of disqualification from the assembly over allegations of corruption.

The current Chief Minister, Champai Soren, has actively participated in the Jharkhand movement in the late 90s along with Shibu Soren. He was a Transport Minister in the Hemant Soren government. He also has the backing of the Soren family.

The MLAs of Jharkhand’s ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance were taken from Hyderabad to Ranchi ahead of tomorrow’s crucial floor test of the Champai Soren government. The MLAs were shifted to Hyderabad following concerns over possible Operation Lotus by the opposition BJP ahead of the general election.

The MLAs were shifted as veteran Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Champai Soren took oath on Friday. Efforts to shift them on Thursday night failed because of inclement weather.

The ruling alliance has 47 MLAs in the 81-member house, where the majority mark is 41. Currently 43 MLAs are backing Champai Soren.

The BJP has 25 MLAs and the AJSU, or All Jharkhand Students Union, has three. The NCP and a Left party have one each and there are three independent MLAs.

The slim majority has given rise to concern. The leaders have been insisting they have the numbers to form government even before t7he arrest of Hemant Soren, which took place on Wednesday evening.

“We have submitted the report (to the Governor) with 43 MLAs in our support. We expect the number will reach 46-47… so there is no problem. Our ‘gathbandhan’, or alliance, is very strong,” Champai Soren has said.

There is a buzz that two JMM MLAs can skip the voting, which is expected to bring down the majority mark. The assembly elections in the state are due in October-November.

The current political crisis in Jharkhand started with the arrest of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case linked to a land scam.