Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has tried to play an ace by offering to resign. For him, offence seems to be the best defence.
However, it is not certain that it may deliver him a fourth consecutive victory in the Delhi elections that are due in five months from now.
He will have to confront ten years of anti-incumbency, besides the corruption charges that led to his imprisonment for about six months.
While his political opponents will try to punch holes in his “moral grandstanding” at this stage, on his part he has played his card well.
He will obviously be questioned as to why he needed to wait for his release from jail to resign and seek endorsement of his “honesty” from the people of Delhi.
He could have done it on the day he was arrested, but instead, he stuck to the Chief Ministerial position.
Kejriwal is aware that the allegations of corruption and his going to jail will be the main issue in the Delhi Assembly elections.
That is why he has seemingly tried to pre-empt the opposition from setting the narrative. He will obviously be accused of being corrupt.
After resigning, however, he will himself be telling the people about the charges levelled against him and will seek their support in endorsing his “honesty”.
Kejriwal has also announced that his former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will also follow in his steps. Both will not continue in office till they are not declared “honest” by the people of Delhi.
Kejriwal has taken a calculated risk in adopting this stance. For sure, he must have weighed all the pros and cons of his decision to step aside.
The opposition, particularly the BJP, had been consistently demanding his resignation. The party would have continued with its demand in view of the Supreme Court imposing certain conditions on his bail – that he cannot visit his office or sign files.
Looking at the bigger picture, though, Kejriwal has robbed the opposition of an issue right now.
Much will depend on the person appointed his successor as Chief Minister. In all likelihood he may choose one of his team members: Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj or Kailash Gehlot.
They will any case only have to serve for five months or so.
Had Kejriwal resigned the day he was arrested, his action would have been perceived differently.
Right now, it may not yield the political dividends he desires.
When senior BJP leader LK Advani was accused of accepting money in the infamous Jain Hawala case, he resigned immediately and resolved not to contest elections until proven innocent.
He stuck to his promise and contested elections again only after he was acquitted of the charges.
Kejriwal’s stand in comparison is completely different. He has neither said that he will not contest the elections, nor has he said he will wait for acquittal from the courts.
Instead, he wants to go to the “people’s court” where he wants to be “acquitted” of the corruption charges levelled against him.
He seems to have chosen the “best option” for himself.
In all probability he will get elected from his New Delhi assembly segment.
In case his party fails to win a majority, he can still claim to have been “pronounced” innocent by the electorate if he wins from his constituency.
The Delhi Chief Minister wants to gain the public sympathy. He tried it during the parliamentary elections. For a while the opposition Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) – AAP is part of the alliance – leaders played up his “victimisation” appeal to gain sympathy votes in Delhi.
But it did not work. Despite an alliance with the Congress, the two parties again drew a blank in the national capital for the third consecutive time in the General Elections.
However, people vote quite differently in Parliamentary and the assembly elections. While the BJP won all the seven seats, in 2014 and 2019 and 2024,
The AAP swept to power in the Assembly elections of 2015 and 2020, making it clear that the voters have different choices in the national Capital for the general elections and Assembly elections.
While the AAP remains quite strong on the ground, retaining power for a third consecutive term will be a tough challenge, particularly after the charges of corruption on the entire senior leadership.
Besides, the very fact that the AAP government withdrew the Delhi Excise Policy, which has been the reason for the party’s troubles, may go against it in the elections.
Although it is highly unlikely that the AAP and the Congress may fight the Delhi elections together, as it did not work in for the Parliamentary elections and is now opposed by some leaders on both sides, in case a tie-up does happen it will be difficult for the Congress to explain its position on the Delhi liquor ‘scam,’ since the first complaint against the AAP government had been lodged by the party itself.
In any case, Kejriwal has taken a politically wise decision and for a while has outwitted the opposition.
At least the opposition can no longer seek his resignation, as he would have already resigned.
Second, instead of the opposition making his corruption charges an issue, he has taken the initiative himself by throwing the ball in the people’s court and leaving it for them to decide whether they think he is corrupt or honest.
He can claim he has been declared “innocent” even if he wins from his constituency, even if the AAP fails to get a majority.
Follow us
