Arvind Kejriwal Arrested: Following two hours of questioning, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. It is the first time that a serving chief minister has been arrested.
With Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, Kejriwal’s arrest has posed a leadership crisis in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Delhi government. The major challenge before AAP is to find a leader who can manage both the party and government in Delhi in case Kejriwal does not get a court relief and is forced to resign as CM.
There are speculations that Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and cabinet ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj may replace Kejriwal as Delhi CM. However, Atishi asserted that Kejriwal will remain the chief minister of Delhi.
Kejriwal’s absence is being seen as a major hurdle for the AAP as the party is gearing up to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, and Assam where the Delhi CM was the main campaigner for the party.
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Here Are The Key Frontrunners:
According to several media reports, Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal who is a former IRS officer, is being seen as one of the key frontrunners for the CM post in case Kejriwal has to resign from the top post. Apart from Kejriwal’s wife, names of AAP Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj too are doing the rounds for the top job.
Atishi is among the key leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and holds over 14 portfolios, including finance, revenue, PWD, services, power, and education. She is also considered a close aide of Kejriwal.
Also, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj is a prominent member of the Delhi cabinet having several crucial portfolios, including health, tourism and urban development. He is often seen attacking the BJP on several issues of governance and other national issues. Bharadwaj, who also served as the vice-chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, is also seen as a close aide of Kejriwal.
In a press conference, Bharadwaj told reporters "Nearly 90% of people in this exercise opined that Mr Kejriwal has the mandate of Delhi and has been elected. Hence, only he would run the government in Delhi no matter from where."