Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Raghav Chadha are among the possible Chief Ministers.
New Delhi:
With Arvind Kejriwal announcing that he will resign as Delhi Chief Minister in 24 hours and return to office only after the public verdict on corruption charges against him, the big question is whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Who will get top post in AP) . AAP leader Manish Sisodia will meet Mr. Kejriwal today, a party official told PTI, in which the choice of the next chief minister may be discussed.
Assembly elections in Delhi are due in February next year, although Mr Kejriwal yesterday demanded that the polls be held in November along with the Maharashtra elections. Mr. Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, has also said that he will go to the people and return to the top post only after re-election. This effectively means that top AAP leaders are not in the race for the Chief Minister's post.
Although the chief minister's post will be for only a few months, the AAP leadership is trying to choose a prominent leader who can articulate the party's stand on key issues and is widely acceptable within the party ranks. .
Here are five guides that could make the cut.
Fiery: Delhi minister Atashi, who holds important portfolios like education and PWD, is one of the key contenders. An Oxford University alumnus and Rhodes Scholar, Ms Atishi has worked extensively in AAP's flagship exercise to improve education in Delhi schools. An MLA from Kalkaji, the 43-year-old became a minister after Mr. Sisodia was arrested in a corruption case linked to Delhi's now defunct liquor policy. While Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Sisodia were behind bars, Atishi outlined the party's stand. On August 15, Mr. Kejriwal chose him to hoist the tricolor at the Delhi government's Independence Day celebrations. While Delhi Lt. Governor VK Saxena foiled the plan, it was clear that the AAP leadership had a lot of faith in Ms. Atishi.
Saurabh Bhardwaj: Mr Bhardwaj is a three-time MLA from Greater Kailash and holds portfolios like vigilance and health in the Arvind Kejriwal government. After Mr. Sisodia's arrest in the liquor policy case, he was also named as minister. Mr Bhardwaj, who has worked as a software engineer in the past, was also a minister in Arvind Kejriwal's 49-day government. He is also the national spokesperson of AAP and was articulating the party's stand when its top leaders were in jail after being arrested by central agencies in corruption cases.
Raghu Chadha: A member of AAP's national executive and political affairs committee, Mr. Chadha is a member of the party's Rajya Sabha and one of its senior faces. Mr Chadha has previously worked as a Chartered Accountant and has been with AAP since its inception. He has been the MLA from Rajendranagar and played a key role in AAP's landslide victory in Punjab in the 2022 state elections. The 35-year-old is among the country's most prominent young politicians and is known to articulate AAP's stand on key issues in Parliament.
Kailash Gehlot: A lawyer by profession, Mr. Gehlot is among the senior members of the AAP government in Delhi and holds important portfolios like transport, finance and home affairs. The 50-year-old leader has been the MLA from Delhi's Najafgarh constituency since 2015. A lawyer who has practiced both in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, he served as Member Executive in the High Court Bar Association from 2005 to 2007.
Sanjay Singh: A member of the Rajya Sabha since 2018, Sanjay Singh is one of the most prominent faces of AAP known for his impassioned speeches in Parliament. The 52-year-old leader has a diploma in mining engineering. He is one of the founding members of the party and a member of its National Executive and Political Affairs Committee. He also regularly interacts with the party's media to explain his position on important issues. Sanjay Singh was arrested in a corruption case linked to the Delhi Liquor Policy case and is currently out on bail, like Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia.