 "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and other leaders during a party workers meeting, in New Delhi, September 15, 2024. PTI")
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal bowled a googly on Sunday (September 15) by announcing his plan to resign in two days. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief’s surprise declaration has generated buzz, with several names doing the rounds who could succeed him.
Kejriwal, who walked out of jail on Friday after securing bail from the Supreme Court in a corruption case related to the Delhi excise policy case, said he would not sit on the CM’s chair until people give him a “certificate of honesty”. “I will only sit on the CM’s chair after people give me a certificate of honesty. I want to give ‘agnipariksha’ after coming out of jail. I will become chief minister and Manish Sisodia deputy CM only when people say we are honest,” he said.
With this, Kejriwal ruled out the possibility of his former deputy replacing him as the Delhi CM. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit out at the Delhi CM over the announcement, terming it a “PR stunt”. The Congress, which is part of the INDIA bloc along with the AAP, has dubbed it a “gimmick”.
What happens next and who can succeed Kejriwal as Delhi CM? Let’s take a closer look.
What next?
Kejriwal made the unexpected announcement of stepping down while addressing AAP leaders and workers at the party headquarters on Sunday.
The AAP convenor said a meeting of party legislators will be held in the coming days to pick his successor. AAP MLAs will reportedly gather on Tuesday (September 17) to decide the next Delhi CM.
As per a Mint report, the Delhi Assembly would not be dissolved. Instead, the new CM will take the oath, along with new ministers. After resigning, Kejriwal would focus on the upcoming elections in Haryana and Delhi.
Kejriwal has also called for advancing the Delhi Assembly elections to November when polls are slated for Maharashtra. “I will sit on the CM’s chair only after being elected. The elections are supposed to be held in February. I demand elections be held in November with Maharashtra elections… Till elections are held, someone else from the party will be the chief minister,” the AAP chief said.
The BJP questioned Kejriwal’s decision to quit after two days and not on Sunday itself. To this, Delhi minister Atishi said at a press conference yesterday, “Today is Sunday and it is Eid on Monday, so the next working day will be Tuesday”.
Who can replace Kejriwal?
Speculations are rife about who the next chief minister of Delhi could be. Sunita Kejriwal , the Delhi CM’s wife, is being seen as a potential successor. The 1993-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has been in the spotlight since her husband was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 and sent to Tihar jail on April 1.
She was a prominent face of the party during the AAP’s Lok Sabha campaigns in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat. Sunita Kejriwal’s experience in bureaucracy could give her an edge. However, she is not a member of AAP. If she replaces her husband, she would have to first join the party and get elected as an MLA within three months, noted India Today.
BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla has asked whether Kejriwal would choose his wife as his successor on the concept of “all power and no responsibility” for himself, reported News18. The AAP would come under fire if Sunita Kejriwal becomes the CM, with the BJP likely to attack the party over family politics.
A senior AAP leader has denied Sunita Kejriwal taking over as the Delhi CM, telling PTI that an MLA from the party is expected to be the new chief minister.
Atishi, who is also among the frontrunners, holds several key portfolios in the Delhi government, including education, women and child development (WCD), power and the public works department (PWD). She emerged as one of the most visible AAP leaders after Kejriwal’s arrest.
The Kalkaji MLA is among the party’s top spokespersons, defending the AAP in the media and leading the charge against the BJP.
Kejriwal chose her to hoist the tricolour on his behalf at the official function of the Delhi government on Independence Day. However, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena rejected the plan and nominated Kailash Gahlot instead.
The name of Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai is also doing the rounds. A senior party member, Rai has been part of the government since the party first came to power in 2013, noted PTI.
As per India Today, he has a deep tie to the city’s working class. His experience dealing with Delhi’s pressing issues like pollution and labour welfare makes him a viable contender for the CM post.
Kailash Gahlot holds crucial portfolios, including home, revenue, and law, justice and legislative affairs. His work as the transport minister has been notable. Being one of the senior leaders in the AAP, Gahlot could be chosen as Kejriwal’s replacement.
AAP sources told Indian Express, “Someone from the party or a minister will be selected for the post but names of Atishi, Rai and Gahlot are doing the rounds.”
“Atishi has a good rapport with officials and knows how to get work done. Similarly, Gahlot… is active in party work and meetings. He also gets work done in his departments despite tussles with bureaucrats,” a source added.
Saurabh Bharadwaj, a three-time MLA from Greater Kailash, has also been at the forefront of keeping the AAP’s position in public and taking on the BJP. Delhi’s health minister previously worked as a software engineer.
The names of Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha have also come up. However, Singh is also out on bail in the excise policy case and it seems unlikely the AAP will pick him.
According to PTI, AAP sources have said that the next CM could be from the minority community as the party has witnessed a decline in support since the 2020 Delhi riots. In such a case, Delhi Minister Imran Hussain could be a surprise candidate.
The next chief minister could also be from the Dalit community given the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
As Delhi gets a new CM, officials are hopeful it will give a boost to the projects that need to be implemented or extended. “Whoever becomes the CM, it will be good as several pending Cabinet proposals will be cleared,” a senior official told Indian Express.
While selecting a new CM for just a few months, the AAP will have to consider the possible repercussions of a power tussle in the future. This was recently seen in Jharkhand between Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) Hemant Soren and Champai Soren.
We will have to wait and watch to see who the next Delhi CM will be.
With inputs from agencies