The Aam Aadmi Party’s most eloquent MP and its ambassador for coordinating with the Opposition, Sanjay Singh, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in a money-laundering case related to the now-shelved liquor policy of Delhi.

The timing of the arrest prompted the Opposition to reiterate that the Modi regime had run out of steam at the end of its second term and was clutching at straws with the Prime Minister’s return to Hindutva rhetoric in his speeches, the crackdown on news site NewsClick, and now the arrest of Singh.

Both NewsClick and Singh have frequently raised questions about the business deals of Anil Ambani and Gautam Adani, alleging a nexus between them and the Modi government. Both NewsClick and Singh face multi-crore defamation suits for these allegations.

Singh said in a message before his arrest: “It is acceptable to die, bending over is not acceptable. I exposed Adani’s scams and filed complaints with the ED. But no action was taken against Adani. Modiji is losing the 2024 elections badly. They cannot win by committing atrocities and putting people in jail. I had earlier also spoken against Adani’s scams, I will continue to do so in future also.”

When the raid at Singh’s residence at North Avenue began on Wednesday morning, AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters: “Elections are coming and the BJP feels that they will lose next year. Going after Sanjayji appears to be a desperate effort of a man who is losing.”

After Singh’s arrest, Kejriwal tweeted: “The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows Modiji’s nervousness. They will arrest many more Opposition leaders till the elections.”

The controversial liquor policy under which Delhi PSUs exited the booze trade lasted eight months until its withdrawal last July after lieutenant governor V.K. Saxena called for a CBI probe.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had attributed losses to the exchequer to the last-minute tweaking of the policy by previous LG Anil Baijal. Sisodia was later arrested by the CBI.

The Enforcement Directorate mentioned Kejriwal, Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC K. Kavitha — the daughter of Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao — and YSRCP parliamentarian M. Sreenivasulu in its court submissions as part of an alleged conspiracy to facilitate liquor cartels.

In May, the ED alleged in a chargesheet that bribes from liquor cartels were used to fund the AAP’s campaign in the 2022 Goa Assembly polls. It also alleged a link between Sisodia, Singh and liquor dealer Dinesh Arora, who was arrested in July. On Tuesday, a Delhi court permitted Arora and Sreenivasulu’s son Raghav Magunta to turn approvers for the ED.

After the day-long raid, Singh — of socialist lineage and training —waved to supporters outside with a tired smile and a wave. When his office staff were raided in May in the same case, Singh had put up a banner outside his home to welcome the ED to a “Fakkad House” or “Pauper’s House”.

With the AAP’s shift towards soft Hindutva after 2019, Singh was one of the few party leaders that liberals could still turn to with their woes.