Anita Katyal | Atishi, as CM, has tough times ahead; Kejriwal shouldn’t be underestimated

While Mr Kejriwal will go into campaign mode now, starting from Haryana, in a bid to revive the AAP’s sagging fortunes, Atishi is expected to get down to the serious business of governance and winning the confidence of party cadres and Delhi’s citizens. Atishi’s top priority will be to focus on pushing ahead with effective implementation of the party’s various welfare schemes and rolling out new ones in the short time she has at her disposal as Assembly elections in Delhi are due in February unless they are held earlier as proposed by Mr Kejriwal.

Atishi cannot afford to let up on development as there is a growing perception that the infrastructure in Delhi has worsened immeasurably over the past six months. But Atishi will have to tread carefully as she cannot be seen as too independent and acquire a bigger profile than Mr Kejriwal who, for all intents and purposes, remains the power behind the throne. Any success coming her way will have to necessarily be credited to Mr Kejriwal’s vision and leadership.

The Opposition parties have been quick to dub Atishi as a “puppet chief minister”, a campaign which is bound to pick up speed in the days ahead. It did not help that Atishi began by undermining her own position with her public declaration that she was only a temporary occupant of the chief minister’s chair. Soon after Atishi was nominated as Arvind Kejriwal’s successor, she announced that her primary objective is to work with her AAP colleagues to ensure that Mr Kejriwal returns as chief minister.

To some extent, Atishi ‘s position is similar to that of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and BJP chief J.P. Nadda, who are not the real power centres in their respective parties. As in Mr Kharge’s case, Atishi may have been elevated to the top job, but her decisions will be subject to Mr Kejriwal’s clearance or veto. As a survival tip, Atishi can draw inspiration from Mr Kharge, who has taken care not to fall foul of the Gandhi family or get embroiled in any major controversy.

In case of the Congress, Mr Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have carved out different roles for themselves. While Mr Kharge is left to handle organisational matters and sort out factional feuds in the various state units, Rahul Gandhi is the public face of the party. Similarly, Atishi has the onerous task of sorting out pending administrative issues with the BJP-appointed lieutenant-governor, whose unbridled powers have resulted in ugly confrontations between the two sides.

While Atishi will be occupied in handling this fractious relationship, that is only likely to get worse as the elections near, Mr Kejriwal is getting ready to battle it out on the streets. Like the new chief minister, the AAP convenor too has his task cut out for him. He has to energise dispirited AAP cadres and consolidate the party’s support base. Having come to power over a decade ago on an anti-corruption platform and facing the ignominy of being accused of financial irregularities, Mr Kejriwal has a lot at stake. Not only does he have to win back the trust of Delhi’s voters but also shed the corruption taint. He has declared that he will return as chief minister only after he has proved his innocence in the “court of the people”.

While facing a string of challenges in their new roles, both Atishi and Mr Kejriwal have a lot going for them. Mr Kejriwal is an astute politician and has successfully played the victim card in the past. He can be expected to do so again. On her part, Atishi has the qualifications and the right profile to complement Mr Kejriwal’s efforts in revitalising the AAP.

Having handled as many as 13 portfolios, including finance and education, Atishi has acquired the necessary administrative skills which have prepared her for her new role. She is no stranger to the Delhi public as she had emerged as the face of the Aam Aadmi Party and the government during Mr Kejriwal’s prolonged incarceration.

But there are other factors which favour Atishi over other seasoned and senior AAP leaders like Gopal Rai and Saurabh Bharadwaj. It can be safely assumed that the gender angle was a key consideration when Mr Kejriwal proposed the young minister’s name for the top executive job. As the only woman minister in his Cabinet, who has joined the ranks of veterans like Sheila Dikshit and Sushma Swaraj as the third woman chief minister of Delhi, Atishi’s elevation is aimed at wooing woman voters with an unwavering eye on the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

Atishi’s other big plus point is her academic record. A student of Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College who then went on to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, Atishi is a cut above her AAP colleagues as far as educational qualifications are concerned. This, it is hoped, will endear the new CM to the urban middle classes, who tend to put great value on education and are taken in by the PLU (People Like Us) factor. AAP leaders privately admit they need to reach out to this section as their programmes have primarily focused on providing relief to the poor and lower middle classes.

Will the combined Kejriwal-Atishi efforts pay off? It’s too early to predict but it would be foolhardy to underestimate the former Delhi chief minister’s ability to bounce back.