Arvind Kejriwal to step down: Will Delhi see a woman Chief Minister a decade after Sheila Dikshit?

Arvind Kejriwal’s surprise announcement that he will step down as Chief Minister of Delhi has left political pundits wondering about his successor.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, who was released from Tihar jail on bail in excise policy case on Friday, said that a meeting with party legislators will be held soon to decide who will replace him for the top job.

Assembly polls are due in Delhi in February next year. Kejriwal has requested the Election Commission to, instead, hold early elections in November 2024. This seems unlikely though considering the logistics involved.

But who will be Kejriwal’s successor? The Delhi chief minister has already ruled out his former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's chances as he, like Kejriwal, will wait for ‘honest’ tag to assume the role.

Atishi or Sunita Kejriwal

The new chief minister will assume an interim role until next elections.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hinted at Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal taking the role.

Sunita shot into the limelight after Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March this year. She was seen issuing statements on his jailed husband’s behalf. She also took part in election campaigning ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and in the run-up to upcoming assembly elections in Haryana.

But Sunita’s chances seem unlikely as Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party would not want a dynast tag to be associated with him. Analysts say it will take away the moral high ground that AAP chief is seeking to occupy with his resignation decision.

The other top contender for CM post is Atishi, minister in Kejriwal cabinet since March 2023.

The Kalkaji lawmaker, Atishi holds key portfolios in Arvind Kejriwal-led government such as Finance, Education, Public Works Department, Power, Revenue, Law, Planning, Services, Information and Publicity, and Vigilance.

“A woman to head the Delhi government could make a difference to the women’s constituency that Kejriwal has been assiduously reaching out to. In his speech on Sunday, he chose to make public the information that he had sent a letter to the L-G from jail, requesting him to let Atishi unfurl the national flag on August 15 in his place but that the letter came back undelivered,” author and political analyst Neerja Chowdhury said in her column in Indian Express on Monday.

'Sheila Dikshit constituency'

With a clean image, Atishi could have an appeal for the women constituency that Congress leader and former chief minister of Delhi late Sheila Dikshit used to enjoy, Chowdhury said.

Dikshit, was the longest-serving chief minister of Delhi and the longest-serving woman chief minister of any Indian state or a period of 15 years from 1998 until 2013, when Kejriwal’s AAP wrested Delhi from the Congress party.

Among other names, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gahlot are also doing the rounds as next chief minister of Delhi. Whosoever replaces Arvind Kejriwal, the party will keep in mind the upcoming assembly elections while picking a name.