In a major development, Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister proposed Atishi as his successor in a meeting of party MLAs on Tuesday. According to sources, the MLAs have backed this proposal. And Atishi has been elected as the new leader of the Delhi AAP Legislative Party.
In the meeting held at his residence today, Kejriwal announced his decision for the new Chief Minister. Sources say that MLAs backed his decision. A bit earlier today, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had denied outright that the wife of the Chief Minister, Sunita Kejriwal, would assume the post.
When asked about Kejriwal’s successor, he said, “I don’t know whether it will be from the council of ministers or an MLA. We will inform you at the appropriate time. If I understand Arvind Kejriwal’s political strategy, Sunita Kejriwal is not interested in this position.”
Upon arriving for the meeting, AAP MLA Gopal Rai said, “We have called a legislative party meeting. CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he will not continue as CM unless people again support and elect him. Till then, the party would elect a new CM and the government shall function under the elected leadership. When people re-elect him, then the government shall again be led by CM Kejriwal.”
On Saturday, Kejriwal announced he was resigning as Chief Minister. He also declared he would not return to office until the people declared him “honest.” He has also demanded advancing the Delhi elections to November this year. Instead of the scheduled elections in February.
Kejriwal said, “Re-elections will be a certificate of my honesty. I want re-elections to happen along with Maharashtra.” Days earlier, the Supreme Court had granted him bail in a corruption case related to the Delhi Excise Policy scam.
The Supreme Court had also granted Kejriwal conditional bail. Kejriwal should not make any public comments regarding the case.
In sum, the decision to appoint Atishi as the new Chief Minister of Delhi portends a sea change in the top echelons of Aam Aadmi Party leadership. All this is happening after Kejriwal finally bowed to pressure to step down until he gets fresh public support. The party’s focus now shifts to managing the transition. And preparing for the upcoming elections, which will determine the future political landscape of Delhi.
ANI
