Even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to meet senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia to possibly discuss the next chief minister, speculations abound over who will be heading the Delhi government after Kejriwal's imminent resignation.
In a surprise move, Kejriwal, on Sunday, announced that he will soon resign from the top post as he does not want to be the chief minister until the people of Delhi give him a "certificate of honesty". Kejriwal, who was released on bail from the Tihar Jail on Friday, said he would hold a meeting of the AAP MLAs in a few days and one of his party colleagues would take over as the chief minister.
#WATCH | Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj says, "Tomorrow, Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) will submit his resignation and as soon as the resignation is accepted, there will be a meeting of the legislative party, the legislative party will elect a leader. The… pic.twitter.com/xmPu3X9gY7
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2024
A party functionary was quoted as saying on Monday, "Kejriwal and Sisodia will be meeting today. This will be the first meeting after the decision by them. The meeting is also likely to see a discussion over the next chief minister."
One of the prominent names doing the rounds as a possible successor to Kejriwal is Delhi minister Atishi.
Atishi, who holds over 10 ministerial portfolios in the cabinet, including education, PWD, and finance, has been a troubleshooter for the AAP in the recent days, defending the party against allegations of corruption. The extensive responsibilities she handles both in the government and in the party have given much credence to the speculations that she would succeed Kejriwal as the Delhi chief minister.
The Kalkaji assembly constituency MLA has also been an impassioned critic of the BJP. On Sunday, after Kejriwal announced his decision to step down and called for early assembly polls, Atishi had said the BJP does not want elections as the saffron party knows that the people of Delhi will express their anger through their votes. She had also expressed confidence that if the elections were to be held today, her party would get all the 70 seats in Delhi.
#WATCH | On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's 'I am going to resign from the CM position after 2 days' statement, Delhi Minister Atishi says "...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… pic.twitter.com/xkUpX152p9
— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2024
Other contenders
There are also speculations that Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will succeed him as the chief minister. A former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, Sunita Kejriwal has been ever more active in public life after the arrest of her husband. She had also campaigned for the party in Lok Sabha elections. However, it is likely that the party may not consider her for the top post fearing that it may lead to allegations of nepotism.
Even as Sisodia's ascension to the chair has been ruled out, other possible contenders for the post include Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Imran Hussain, and Kailash Gahlot.
