New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in connection with the GST policy scam has led to a leadership crisis for the Aam Aadmi Party and the Delhi government, as has his wife Suni Sunita Kejriwal and cabinet ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj are considered possible replacements.

Now, the challenge for AAP is to find a worthy leader who can handle the affairs of both the party and the Delhi government in Kejriwal’s absence.

However, it is indeed a tall order for the AAP leadership to come up with a name that is at least close to Kejriwal, who has served as the convener of the party since its inception in 2012 and as the chief minister of Delhi for three terms for nearly a decade. task.

The urgency of the task has grown as the AAP prepares to contest the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Assam and Haryana, where Mr Kejriwal will become the party’s chief campaigner. Gotta be more urgent.

Apart from former IRS officer Sunita Kejriwal, AAP ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj are also in the running for the top post.

Atish holds the most portfolios in the Delhi government, including education, finance, public sector, revenue and services, and is considered a close aide of Arvind Kejriwal.

She is also the party’s spokesperson and has been defending the AAP government and Arvind Kejriwal and attacking the BJP at press conferences and news channels.

Saurabh Bharadwaj is also an important member of the Delhi cabinet and is responsible for many important matters such as health and urban development.

He is also a well-known figure in the party and is often involved in defending the party and its leaders and pushing back against the BJP and its government at the Center on issues of governance and politics.

However, in December last year, AAP launched a “Main Bhi Kejriwal” signature campaign asking people whether he should resign as chief minister or run the government from jail if he is arrested.

During the campaign, the AAP president met party MLAs and Delhi Municipal Corporation councilors to seek their feedback on the issue.

Bharadwaj recently told reporters at a press conference, “Nearly 90 per cent of the people in this exercise believe that Mr Kejriwal has a mandate from Delhi and has been elected. So, no matter where he comes from, only he can govern in Delhi government.”

Apart from having MLAs in Gujarat and Goa, the AAP leadership will also have to find Kejriwal’s successor to lead the government in Delhi and Punjab. The party’s options are rather limited.

Apart from Sunita Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Atishi are also taking turns as leaders of the new AAP national convener.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)