AAP MLAs to meet to pick Arvind Kejriwal’s successor as CM resigns today

NEW DELHI: With Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expected to resign later on Tuesday, AAP MLAs will hold a crucial meeting at 11.30 am at his residence to pick his successor.

Kejriwal is likely to meet Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena at 4.30 pm and tender his resignation.

After being released from Tihar jail on bail in the excise policy case, the AAP national convenor said on Sunday that he would resign within 48 hours and sought early polls in Delhi. He vowed not to sit in the chief minister’s chair till people gave him a “certificate of honesty”.

On Monday, AAP held a series of meetings as Kejriwal sought feedback from members of the political affairs committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, on his successor in one-on-one meetings at his official residence.

He had met senior leaders, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha, about the party’s choice for chief minister.

Names of Delhi ministers Atishi, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj are making the rounds as contenders, party insiders said and added that Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel were also probables.

Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla, who is also the deputy speaker in the assembly, and Kondli legislator Kuldeep Kumar are also potential candidates, they added.

The AAP sources said the surprise candidate could also be a member of the minority community as the party has witnessed its support among the community wavering since the 2020 Delhi riots.

In such a scenario, Delhi minister Imran Hussain may be the surprise face, they added.

The BJP said Kejriwal’s decision to resign as chief minister was borne out of “compulsion” and not driven by “principle”. The saffron party has described his move as “drama” and a “confession of crime” and wondered if he had offered to quit because of infighting in AAP.

Addressing party workers on Sunday, Kejriwal sought polls in the national capital in November. The Delhi Assembly’s term ends on February 23 and the polls are expected to be held some time in early February.