Arvind Kejriwal announces resignation as Delhi Chief Minister after release from Tihar Jail

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced his intention to resign after his release from Tihar Jail. The AAP leader also demanded early elections in the national capital and vowed to shun the CM until he receives a “certificate of honesty” from the people of Delhi. The move has drawn a mixed reaction from political parties, with the opposition BJP insisting that it was a “PR exercise”.

Both the BJP and the AAP have called for early elections in Delhi, along with the Maharashtra assembly elections in November. The move, reminiscent of Kejriwal’s 49-day stint as chief minister in 2014, could prove to be a “masterstroke” as much as it could backfire on the AAP.

AAP MLAs will gather in Delhi to elect a new chief minister in the next 48 hours. The names of Sunita’s wife and Delhi ministers Atishi and Gopal Rai have started doing the rounds as potential candidates to replace her.

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 chief minister’s post in two days and ask people whether I am honest. Till they answer, I will not sit on the CM’s chair… I will sit on the CM’s chair only after people give me a certificate of honesty. I want to give ‘Agnipariksha“(the ordeal by fire) after being released from prison,” he said in a public speech on Sunday.

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

“But our party did not crack. I did not resign from jail because I wanted to protect the Constitution of India. I wanted to defeat their formula… The Supreme Court asked the central government why a government cannot flee from jail… The Supreme Court has proved that a government can flee from jail…”

Will this measure help the AAP?

The exit, which is expected to be made official on Tuesday, will not be the first time Kejriwal has resigned as Delhi chief minister.

President’s rule was imposed in Delhi for nearly a year after Kejriwal stepped down in 2014, after just 49 days in power. The party faced severe backlash after his departure: the former chief minister was pelted with ink, slapped during a roadshow and even had his vehicle pelted with eggs in Varanasi. The AAP had also repeatedly apologised for “walking out of government” while campaigning for the 2015 elections.

This decision, however, appears to have served the party well in the past.

The AAP returned to power in February 2015 with 67 seats (out of 70) in the Delhi Assembly. The party then won another resounding victory in the 2020 elections by winning 62 seats.

What can go wrong?
Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia have insisted that they will resume their roles only “when people say we are honest”. The AAP will thus be forced to choose an “outsider” as Delhi chief minister for the next few months at its next MLA meeting.

The selection of a new temporary “leader”, however, can create divisions within the party. A recent example is the elevation of Champai Soren to the post of Jharkhand chief minister after the arrest of party leader Hemant Soren. The seven-time MP recently left the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to join the BJP, citing humiliation at the hands of the party leadership.

(With contributions from agencies)