Atishi to succeed Kejriwal as next Delhi chief minister? Here’s what goes in AAP MLA's favour

In a surprise announcement, Arvind Kejriwal today announced that he will resign as Delhi Chief Minister in the next two days and someone from the Aam Admi Party (AAP) will take up the top post. Kejriwal said that the next chief minister will be decided in the next two days. 

The sudden announcement has triggered a buzz of Kejriwal’s possible successor as the next CM with AAP leader Atishi Marlena coming up as one of the favourite choices. 

It is likely that Atishi may hold the reins of the Delhi government in the coming days. She was a key member of the Manifesto Drafting Committee of AAP for the 2013 assembly elections and played a crucial role to shape up the party during its early stages. 

The AAP leader holds several important portfolios in the Kejriwal-led government namely Finance, Planning, PWD, Water, Power, Education, Higher Education, TTE, Services, Public Relation and Vigilance. Atishi now oversees 11 portfolios, which is the highest number of departments a minister holds in the Delhi government right now.

She took oath as a minister on March 9, 2023, following a cabinet reshuffle. Atishi was sworn in as minister in March alongside Saurabh Bharadwaj after Sisodia and former health minister Satyendar Jain tendered their resignations following their arrests in separate cases. 

Atishi’s importance can be gauzed from the fact that Kejriwal in a letter to the Delhi LG VK Saxena, suggested that cabinet minister Atishi will hoist the national flag in his place during the Delhi government’s Independence Day programme. 

The uncertainty over who will hoist the Tricolour during the official Delhi government function on Independence Day rose due to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being in jail in a corruption case during that time. 

The AAP MLA, who represents Kalkaji Assembly constituency, has been at the forefront as a spokesperson of AAP and led from the front weather be it the Delhi water crisis or the high-profile Swati Maliwal assault case.

Replying on Kejriwal’s resignation in 2 days announcement, Atishi said, “...For the last two years, BJP has left no stone unturned to harass AAP. Thousands of raids were conducted but they could not present any proof of corruption... BJP is afraid of elections. BJP knows that the people of Delhi are angry about the way false allegations were made against Arvind Kejriwal. That is why the BJP does not want elections because they know that the people of Delhi will express this anger in their votes. If elections are held today, the people of Delhi will not give a single seat to the BJP. 70 out of 70 seats will go to the Aam Aadmi Party...” 

Meanwhile, Kejriwal has also demanded that assembly elections, which are due in February 2025, be conducted in November this year along with Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

His resignation announcement has been termed a 'PR stunt' by BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, who said Kejriwal has understood that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader.