Arvind Kejriwal announces resignation as Delhi CM after exit from Tihar jail — What’s next for AAP?

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced plans to resign on Sunday following his exit from Tihar jail. The AAP supremo has also sought early polls in the national capital and vowed to avoid the CM chair until he was given a “certificate of honesty” by the people of Delhi. The move has evoked a mixed response from political parties with the Opposition BJP insisting that it was a “PR exercise”.

Both the BJP and the AAP have now called for a snap election in Delhi alongside the Maharashtra Assembly polls in November. The move — reminiscent of the 49 days Kejriwal spent at Chief Minister in 2014 could prove to be a ‘masterstroke’ just as easily as it can backfire on the AAP.

AAP MLAs will now convene in Delhi to select a new Chief Minister within the next 48 hours. The names of his wife Sunita and Delhi Ministers Atishi and Gopal Rai have begun doing the rounds as a probable replacement.

What did Kejriwal say?
“Today I have come to ask the public whether you consider Kejriwal honest or a criminal…I will resign from the post of chief minister two days from today and ask people whether I am honest. Till they respond, I won't sit on CM's chair…I will only sit on CM's chair after people give me a certificate of honesty. Want to give 'agnipariksha' (trial by fire) after coming out of jail,” he said during a public address on Sunday.

Kejriwal said he had been sent to jail “because their goal was to break the AAP” and form a government in Delhi.

“But our party did not break. I did not resign from the jail because I wanted to protect the Constitution of India. I wanted to fail their formula... The SC asked the central government why a government cannot run from the jail... The SC proved that a government can run from jail...”

Will the move help AAP?

The exit — likely to be formalised on Tuesday — will not be the first time that Kejriwal has stepped down as Delhi CM.

President's Rule was imposed in Delhi for almost a year after after Kejriwal quit in 2014 after merely 49 days in office. The party had faced severe backlash following the exit — with the ex-CM facing ink attacks, being slapped during a roadshow and even having his vehicle pelted with eggs in Varanasi. The AAP had also apologised repeatedly for “leaving the government” while campaigning for the 2015 polls.

The decision however appeared to have served the party well in the past.

AAP stormed back to power on February 2015 with 67 seats (out of 70) in the Delhi Assembly. The party followed this up with another resounding win in the 2020 elections by securing 62 seats.

What can go wrong?
Kejriwal and his former Deputy Manish Sisodia have insisted that they will only reprise their roles "when people say we are honest". The AAP will therefore be forced to choose a relative ‘outsider’ as its Delhi CM for the next few months during its upcoming MLA meeting.

The selection of a new and temporary ‘leader’ can however prompt dissent within the party ranks. A recent example is the elevation of Champai Soren as Jharkhand Chief Minister following the arrest of party chief Hemant Soren. The seven-time MLA recently left the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to join the BJP citing humiliation at the hands of the party leadership.

(With inputs from agencies)