Today, the Delhi Assembly will address Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's motion of confidence, demonstrating his political fortitude in the face of accusations from his party that the BJP is attempting to lure away AAP MLAs.

Prior to the trust vote, Arvind Kejriwal participated in a virtual court session this morning, addressing earlier summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to the liquor policy case. The court has scheduled the next hearing for March 16th.

Last week, the court summoned Mr. Kejriwal, who also serves as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief, to appear today, emphasizing his legal obligation to comply with the summons.

The ED's complaint accuses the Delhi chief minister of deliberately avoiding compliance with the summons and consistently providing "lame excuses." The agency argues that if a prominent public figure like him disregards the law, it would establish a negative precedent for the ordinary citizen, who represents the Aam Aadmi.

Mr. Kejriwal's decision to seek a trust vote precedes the ED's sixth summons for his appearance on February 19th. Despite five previous summons being ignored, both he and his party, AAP, have consistently asserted that these summonses were unjustified and solely aimed at facilitating his arrest by the agency.

During yesterday's Assembly session, while presenting the motion of confidence, Mr. Kejriwal disclosed that two AAP MLAs informed him of being approached by BJP members. These individuals purportedly asserted that the Delhi chief minister would face imminent arrest.

"The MLAs were told that 21 AAP legislators have agreed to leave the party and more are in touch with the BJP. They offered the MLAs ₹ 25 crore to join the BJP. The MLAs told me they did not accept. When we spoke to other MLAs, we found that they had not contacted 21, but seven. They were trying to carry out another Operation Lotus," Mr Kejriwal said.

"I want to show that none of our MLAs defected, and all remain steadfastly aligned with us," he said.

This marks the second instance of the Arvind Kejriwal government pursuing a vote of confidence. The Aam Aadmi Party holds 62 out of the 70 seats in the Assembly, while the BJP holds eight.

Ever since the first summons was issued by the Enforcement Directorate, there has been intense speculation that the Delhi chief minister would be arrested by the agency after his questioning.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) asserts that liquor companies played a role in shaping the excise policy, anticipating a 12 percent profit margin. It has implicated a liquor consortium known as the "South Group" for allegedly providing kickbacks, with some of the funds allegedly directed towards public officials. The Enforcement Directorate has further alleged that these kickbacks were laundered.

The BJP has accused the AAP of utilizing the purported proceeds from the scam to finance its extensive campaign in Gujarat. During this campaign, the AAP garnered 12.91 percent of the votes, solidifying its presence as a national political party.