The decision of the Aam Admi Party to hand over the chief minister’s chair to its leader and minister Atishi until its national convener Arvind Kejriwal “gets a certificate of honesty from the people” is a logical follow-up of the CM quitting the post. Ms Atisihi has been a brilliant academic before joining politics, and has held the fort for the AAP during its most excruciating time when its leaders were being hunted down by the Union government’s investigation agencies. As minister, she kept the ministry afloat against a vindictive Union government and a lieutenant governor who would want to miss not one occasion to embarrass the elected government.
The Supreme Court has interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution rightly, and held that bail is the rule, before granting Mr Kejriwal bail in the cases registered by both CBI and the ED. However, the bail conditions made it virtually impossible for Mr Kejriwal to function as the elected chief minister of the national capital, and hence his decision to quit, for the time being. It was imperative for the AAP to keep the government going in an efficient way as it is the only way for it to go and seek votes for a third term. Ms Atishi’s performance has proved that she is best suited for the job.
Both Mr Kejriwal and Ms Atishi have made it abundantly clear that the latter will keep the seat warm for the party leader until the people gave their verdict in the elections. However, the party could in its collective wisdom decide that Ms Atishi could continue in the job, should the people give a favourable verdict, so that Mr Kejriwal can expand the horizon of his activities to a larger national audience. The AAP has become a national party in a few years of its formation and is in a position to mount a formidable challenge to the BJP at the national level. In that sense, the results of the Delhi elections could become a milestone in the political history of the republic.
