By G Krishna Mohan Rao*
New Delhi: Two days after securing bail from the Supreme Court in the Delhi excise policy case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced today that he will resign as the Chief Minister of Delhi.
Following his announcement at the workers’ meeting in the party’s new office in the Capital, speculation is rife about the next candidate for the position. Many names are being considered, and his colleague in the Cabinet, Atishi, appears to be a strong contender for the coveted post. Other names include, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, who has been holding the fort when her husband was in jail.
Kejriwal’s announcement that he would quit from Chief Ministership, is along expected lines. He promised that in two days a new incumbent would be named to succeed him.
उनकी साज़िशें हमारे चट्टान जैसे हौसलों को नहीं तोड़ पाईं, हम फिर से आपके बीच में हैं। हम देश के लिए यूँ ही लड़ते रहेंगे, बस आप सब लोगों का साथ चाहिए। https://t.co/o5mBn8vOx3
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 15, 2024
What is significant, though, is his statement that he will not sit on the chair until the people of Delhi give their “verdict”. He said, “If the public feels that Kejriwal is honest, then they will vote for me. Each of your votes will be a certificate of my being honest. If you people make me victorious by voting for me, only I will sit on the Chief Minister’s chair”.
Yet, the factors that are forcing Kejriwal to quit, could be anyone’s guess.
It may be mentioned that after the Supreme Court granted bail with several conditions, it was not easy not just for Kejriwal but for any chief minister to resume the political innings. The Apex Court laid down conditions which forbid him from going to the Secretariat and also prohibited him from signing any files on the cases, in which he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and subsequently the Central Bureau of Investigation( CBI ). In other words, while he shall continue to remain the Chief Minister, he would be in office with curtailed powers that shall render him more or less ineffective.
Kejriwal, despite all his proclamations earlier of being an anarchist, is in no position to defy the Apex Court’s conditionalities and simultaneously is not the kind of politician who would continue to remain silent. He has to further the interests of the AAP which he heads, at all cost. Haryana Assembly elections are on, and the talks of ties with the Congress have broken down. In addition, the Delhi Assembly polls are also around the corner and for him to survive politically, he has to somehow ensure that he makes a comeback in the national capital at least.
There are also apprehensions after the recent meeting between prominent Delhi BJP leader Vijender Gupta with President Droupady Murmu, that the Delhi Assembly could be superseded by the Union Government. This could for the time being bring about President’s rule in the capital till an alternative to the present system is worked out. The hypothetical situation would imply that the elected government would be dismissed to pave the way for the Centre’s complete takeover of Delhi.
Moreover, with his hands tied behind his back, Kejriwal has to fight the BJP on one hand, and the Congress Party on the other, even though the AAP and the Congress are part of the INDIA bloc. In this context, he has to find ways and means of overcoming the conditions to assert the rights of the elected government, which finds itself pushed into the corner by the overriding powers, which the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, as a representative of the Centre, enjoys.
So, multiple options can be explored by the AAP which won the Delhi Assembly polls with record percentages, both in 2015 and 2020. The party also displaced the BJP in the municipal corporation and is facing flak for the breakdown of civic amenities during the monsoons. Its popularity is perceived to be diminishing and unless something dramatic happens, insiders fear that the AAP shall not be able to replicate its earlier performances.
In such a scenario, many political pundits suggest that Kejriwal should put in his papers and quit as the Chief Minister while blaming the Centre for not allowing him to function effectively.
Once he resigns, Kejriwal could focus on campaigning for the assembly elections in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra, and establish himself as a national leader since AAP is already recognised as a national party.
Post his resignation, while the selection of the new AAP leader as Delhi CM could be tricky, Kejriwal’s next move after that could be to make full statehood for Delhi his main plank for the assembly elections. In the elections, if he wins on this plank then it would be difficult for any Central government to ignore the wishes of the people.
Reacting strongly, the Bharatiya Janata Party termed his announcement to resign a “PR stunt” as well as a “PR exercise and drama”. It said that Kejriwal’s wife Sunita would succeed him. The BJP claimed Kejriwal was enacting the resignation “drama” because the court did not acquit him in the excise policy scam case and instead granted him a conditional bail, which turned him merely into a ceremonial minister from the chief minister.
On the other hand, former Congress Party MP from Delhi, Sandeep Dixit, said that Kejriwal should have resigned from his position a long time ago when he faced legal issues. Now Kejriwal’s attempts to step down are just for show, he added.
*Senior journalist
SC hasn’t said Kejriwal can’t sign on other files from home. That’s a loophole he is exercising. But the resignation and snap poll was on the cards.