The Aam Aadmi party is set to announce the new Delhi Chief Minister by 12 pm today after the party’s legislative meeting in the national capital. According to the Aam Aadmi Party, the meeting will be held at the Chief Minister’s residence today.
Following this, Arvind Kejriwal will meet the Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at 4:30 p.m. today and the newly chosen leader of the legislative party will simultaneously stake a claim for the post of Chief Minister.
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj remained tight-lipped about who will succeed Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister, stating only that the successor could be either a current minister or an MLA.
“It does not matter who sits on the CM chair because the mandate was for Arvind Kejriwal. The public chose Arvind Kejriwal. He has said that he will not sit on the CM chair until the people ask again but the chair belongs to Arvind Kejriwal for these and the next 5 years… One of us will sit on the chair until the elections take place. It will be similar to the way Bharat ruled in the absence of Lord Ram,” Bharadwaj said.
On being asked who will replace Arvind Kejriwal, Bharadwaj said, “It can be an MLA or any present minister. There will be a discussion with the MLAs today and the name may be decided”.
Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign and would not resume the CM’s post until the people of Delhi declared him “honest.” He has also called for advancing polls in the national capital to November this year, ahead of the scheduled February elections.
Kejriwal stated that if re-elected by the public, it would serve as a “certificate” of his honesty. He added that he would push for early elections, alongside those in Maharashtra.
The announcement by the 54-year-old leader came two days after he was released from the Tihar jail after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.
The apex court also imposed certain conditions on Kejriwal’s release, including that he must refrain from making public comments about the case and must attend all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.
