Siddharth Bannerjee analyses the circumstances surrounding Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation from his post as Delhi Chief Minister

Bannerjee, Siddharth

LSE Research Online

2014-2-18Kejriwal’s resignation: Principled stand or strategiccalculation?blogs.lse.ac.uk /southasia/2014/02/18/kejriwals-resignation-principled-stand-or-strategic-calculation/Siddharth Bannerjee analyses the circumstances surrounding Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation from his post asDelhi Chief Minister.The meteoric rise of Arvind Kejriwal and his mercurial Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has come to an abrupt, but notentirely unexpected, halt after less than 50 days as chief minister  of the coalition in New Delhi state. After claimingthat he would step down from office if his party’s public ombudsman legislation, the Jan Lokpal Bill, was not passedin the legislature, Kejriwal duly tendered his resignation when members of the Assembly prevented the tabling of thebill. The Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, de jure head of Delhi, had recommended, on the advice of the SolicitorGeneral of India, that the bill not be introduced on grounds that it would provoke conflicting constitutionaljurisdictional claims between state and central governments.With both the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ostensibly opposing the introduction of the JanLokpal bill on this basis, it did not stand a chance of passage and was in the end both symbolically and literally intatters, prompting the AAP figurehead to hand in his notice and call for fresh elections. For his part, Kejriwal claimsthat the opposition acted out of an impulse to protect their allies, following his daring move to issue a policecomplaint against petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily, former minister Murli Deora and Reliance Industries chiefMukesh Ambani for alleged collusion in the hike in prices of natural gas. As of 17 February, the New Delhi legislatureremains in ‘suspended animation’ under President’s Rule  as the Lieutenant Governor explores alternate governingarrangements.Even in these seven short weeks, Kejriwal has been able to carve out a legacy based on the populist measures thathe introduced, and this helps maintain his high approval ratings among the rank and file constituencies of Delhi’steeming millions (auto rickshaw drivers are an interesting case in point). Never out of the headlines for long duringits tenure, the AAP government courted controversy, censure and praise in equal measure. The nearly daily chaosnotwithstanding, what is indisputable is that for such a short stint in power, the AAP has managed to push through anumber of blockbuster reforms that have the effect of the reappropriating wealth that was thought to have beenpilfered by corrupt individuals taking advantage of a deeply plutocratic system.The decision to resign might also have been a strategic calculation on Kejriwal’s part to focus more on the national1/2elections, the schedule for which should be announced by 15 March. As an upstart political entity, the AAP has beentrying to drum up volunteer support and financial donations in a bid to nationalise its presence in the lead up to thepolls. Despite support in the north, the AAP is hampered by the language barrier in reaching out to potential cadresand candidates in the south and east of India. With regional parties maintaining their strong bases, and theCongress party all but written off, look for the AAP to train its sights on the BJP , and its national leader NarendraModi, on issues of corporate accountability and process transparency in relation to its own economic track recordand vision.Siddharth Bannerjee is a graduate of LSE’s MSc in Social Policy and Development and works on governancereform initiatives, especially ones involving the use of innovative technology and open source data.Copyright © 2016 London School of Economics2/2

Kejriwal’s resignation: principled stand or strategic calculation?

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