Kejriwal’s move to resign came as a surprise to AAP leaders too

The decision by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to step down – five months before the scheduled end of his tenure – was first revealed in a meeting of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders at the CM’s house on Saturday evening, and came as a surprise to those present there, three party leaders aware of the matter said on Monday.
Kejriwal contemplated stepping down when he was still in jail, but decided against tending his resignation while he was incarcerated as he wanted to “foil the attempt of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to break the AAP and undermine democracy by arresting opposition leaders in fake cases and forcing them to resign”, said one of the AAP leader cited above who asked not to be named.
“No one in the party was made aware of the fact that the CM was contemplating his resignation. In fact, most of the AAP leaders, including several senior MLAs, learned about CM’s resignation only when the CM publicly announced it on Sunday,” said a second leader.
A third leader said that it was also decided that Kejriwal would tender his resignation without recommending the dissolution of the assembly. This was done as that dissolution would lead to the imposition of the President’s Rule in Delhi and the assembly elections, likely in February 2025, could be delayed further, the leader said.
In a surprise move on Sunday, Kejriwal announced he will resign as Delhi CM on September 17 and return only if he has the people’s mandate. The decision, which was announced two days after he walked out of jail following a months-long incarceration for alleged irregularities in the excise policy case, gave an unexpected turn to the Capital’s high-stakes assembly elections likely to be held early next year.
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“In the meeting (on Saturday), Kejriwal proposed to step down from the chief minister’s post because false allegations of corruption have been levelled against him, which were used to put him in jail for nearly six months. Now that he was given bail by the Supreme Court which questioned the neutrality of the CBI, it was time to seek the vote of the people on his honesty. The decision came as a shock to everyone,” said the first leader.
To be sure, leaders from the BJP were demanding the resignation of the Delhi CM soon after Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, 2024. The AAP even started a campaign asking people whether Kejriwal continue to run the government from inside jail.
On Sunday, Kejriwal explained why he did not resign immediately after his arrest in March.
“I did not resign because I wanted to save the democracy of the country. Apart from buying MLAs, breaking parties, and intimidating, they have made another formula that wherever they lose elections, they file fake cases against the Chief Ministers, arrest them and topple the government. They have filed cases against Siddaramaiah, Pinarayi Vijayan, Hemant Soren, and Mamata Banerjee. These people do not spare even a single leader of the opposition. I have proved that the government can be run from jail,” said Kejriwal.
Sanjay Kumar, professor and co-director of Lokniti at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), said the decision is not likely to negatively impact the AAP, and could help the party in the upcoming polls.
“The move may blunt Opposition’s attack on him over various issues related to governance in Delhi. When he steps down from the CM’s chair, Kejriwal will have to leave his official residence as well which was used by the BJP to attack him saying that he was living in a palatial building. It will not affect the AAP because even when he steps down as CM, Kejriwal will continue to command equal level of power in the party as the AAP chief. The new CM from the AAP is unlikely to pose any challenge to the authority of Kejriwal,” said Kumar.