On February 28, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia and jailed AAP leader Satyendra Jain resigned from their respective posts in the state cabinet. As per reports, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, accepted their resignations.
Widely known as ‘Handsome Sisodia’, the Deputy CM was in charge of 18 departments, including education, finance, planning, services, vigilance, tourism, health, and industries. He was named in the alleged excise policy scam and was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Satyendra Jain in a money laundering case. Jain was arrested in May 2022 and had been avoiding resignation since then. Arvind Kejriwal, who thumped his chest for being “non-corrupt” so many times, did not bother to ask for his resignation on moral and ethical grounds. Kejriwal always emphasised that his colleagues were innocent, and the allegations against them is nothing but political vendetta.
With Jain and Sisodia, the list of Kejriwal’s confidantes who laid the foundation of the party has shrunk further. Over the years, since the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, the top leadership has left the party for one reason or another. Though Jain and Sisodia have not left AAP per se, their names have already been tarnished completely in the coming days to a level they would be of virtually no use to the party.
After these two, only Raghav Chaddha, Bhagwant Mann, Atishi Marlena, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjay Singh, and a couple more leaders are left that can be called the national face of AAP. Out of these, Bhagwant Mann is currently serving as Punjab’s CM, and Raghav Chaddha and Sanjay Singh are serving as Rajya Sabha MPs. Reportedly, Atishi and Saurabh are going to be elevated to cabinet ministers.
If we look at the history of the party, those who tried to fight corruption in the system at the national or local level by becoming prominent members of AAP either left the party or became accused of corruption. Here are some of the prominent names.
Prashant Bhushan: One of the founding members of AAP, Prashant Bhushan, was literally kicked out by the party members in March 2015.
Yogendra Yadav: Another founding member of the party, Yadav, was also removed from the party in early 2015 along with Bhushan. Both Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were seen at Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Kumar Vishwas: In 2018, Vishwas was removed from key positions in the party. There was a scuffle between Kejriwal and Vishwas that continued for years. Before Punjab Assembly Elections, Vishwas accused Kejriwal of siding with Khalistani elements. Vishwas had also accused Kejriwal of selling’ Rajya Sabha nominations.
Shazia Ilmi: Ilmi was a member of the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party. She contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on AAP’s ticket but lost. Later, she left the party, saying she was unhappy with the way the party functioned. She joined Bharatiya Janata Party.
Kapil Mishra: Once a firebrand leader of AAP, Mishra was best known for standing to the opposition strongly on all grounds. He levelled allegations of delay of investigations in a water tanker scam worth 400 crores against the CM, after which he was sacked from the party’s primary membership in 2017. In 2019, he officially joined BJP.
Alka Lamba: A seasoned and controversial politician who joined AAP after leaving Congress in December 2014. In September 2019, she left AAP and rejoined Congress.
All six leaders mentioned above had the potential to reach top positions in the cabinet. However, they were either thrown out of the party or forced to leave the party.
The story of those who did not leave the party is also interesting. Two of the leaders who did make it to the top positions (Jain and Sisodia) are in jail over serious corruption charges. Two leaders (Chaddha and Singh) were shifted to Rajya Sabha, and one of the top leaders, the only Lok Sabha member from AAP (Mann), was made CM of Punjab. Now, the two AAP leaders (Atishi and Bhardwaj) who have the potential to hold key positions are reportedly being elevated to cabinet ministers’ positions.
Delhi: AAP legislators Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi likely to be elevated as ministers
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) March 1, 2023
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/SVo5doPlDk#Delhi #AAP #SaurabhBhardwaj #Atishi #ManishSisodia #SatyendarJain pic.twitter.com/bgGljqHXsi
Amidst all this, the Chief Minister of Delhi still holds no department. If he does not hold any portfolio, there is no way his name can surface in any controversy, at least related to governance. He can make all the bizarre claims, play national politics and roam around the country doing rallies for state elections as he did in Gujarat and Punjab. But when it comes to facing allegations in terms of governance, Kejriwal’s hands have been clean.
As Kumar Vishwas alleged in the past, Kejriwal dreams of ruling a country as Prime Minister. Could it be a strategy on that path, or is it just a coincidence that only he is ‘rising and shining’ while others are taking the heat? Only Kejriwal or time can tell.
