Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced he’s stepping down and is all set to submit his resignation on Tuesday, September 17. While this all might be just another political drama considering PM Modi’s birthday falls on the same date, this announcement might be risky for Kejriwal if he has made up his mind.
Not an easy game
If Arvind Kejriwal steps down, he has to pick a candidate to get into his shoes or rather lead the Delhi government. A candidate who should be loyal enough to step down as and when the AAP chief wants. If we look back at the records of all such replacements, this decision seems scary for even those who were considered disciple-like became adamant when they were asked to leave the throne.
Nitish Kumar Vs Jitan Manjhi
Accepting his defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Nitish Kumar resigned from his position as the Chief Minister of Bihar. He expected his decision to be applauded for being ethical and handing over the govt to a Dalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi who was then a super naive politician. Little did the Sushasan Babu know that it would be difficult to get back his designation by someone as simple as Jitan Ram. Even the political experts couldn’t visualise that Jitan Ram would turn a strong critique of Nitish Kumar in the next elections and end up forming a separate party.
Hemant Soren Vs Champai Soren
When Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Hemant Soren had to step down before his arrest, speculations stirred that his wife Kalpana Soren would replace him but Hemant surprised everyone by picking Champai Soren who wasn’t a popular figure before taking oath as the CM of Jharkhand. Champai, who was considered a confidante of Hemant, chose to go against him when he had to return ‘favour’ to the former CM. Consequently, Champai joined the BJP putting an end to his cold war against Hemant.
Are wives a safe choice?
Wives have been a relatively safe choice in such cases and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was the first to experiment on it. But what happened in UP in the case of BJP minister Dayashankar Singh is a testimony to the fact that nobody can be trusted to hand over back the throne that is given for a period of time. After being engaged in unparliamentary criticism of BSP chief Mayawati, the then transport minister of UP, Dayashankar Singh had to step down. His wife Swati Singh took the opportunity and conducted a press conference raising issues of the safety of her and her daughter amid wide outrage against Dayashankar’s family.
Swati was later given the BJP ticket instead of her husband, she was elected and celebrated. In 2022, in the next assembly elections, she denied leaving the seat for her husband. Later, she was denied a BJP ticket and her husband grabbed the same.
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Too tricky for Arvind Kejriwal?
So, considering these cases, it becomes very tricky for Arvind Kejriwal on whom to choose. If he picks Sunita Kejriwal, the BJP will leave no chance to label him as playing the dynasty politics and not being the Aam Aadmi as the party proclaims. Picking someone who seems to be a close competitor would be a risk that Kejriwal would never take. He has clearly stated that Manish Sisodia is not in the race. Choosing Atishi Singh could again be risky for who is a loyalist today might turn into a rebel tomorrow. The other choices are Gopal Rai and Saurabh Bharadwaj but there’s no choice that can be trusted like the Sun and the Earth.
