Days after receiving a crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls, Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal is seemingly eyeing two options, the first one being the Chief Ministerial position in Punjab and secondly a berth in Rajya Sabha, to maintain his political relevance at the national stage.
The undisputed leader of AAP, who has himself lost his New Delhi Assembly constituency and saw the party reduced to a tally of 22 in the 70 member Delhi Assembly, is likely to hold a meeting with his top political leaders at Kapurthala House in the national capital to finalise the strategy on his future soon, sources said.
All AAP Members of Parliament, MLAs and senior leaders are likely to participate in the meeting, where the two options for Kejriwal’s future and the party’s future political strategy are likely to be discussed, sources added.
The plan for saving the political future of the AAP supremo was necessitated after almost all top leaders, including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Saurabh Bharadwaj failed to secure a win in the Delhi polls.
There is strong speculation that Kejriwal may ask Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to resign from his position and may take over. This, however, will only be done after taking a sense of the state’s AAP MPs, MLAs and senior leaders from the state.
Kejriwal’s potential entry into the Rajya Sabha, to ensure his political relevance at the national level, may be the second option. However, even for the implementation of this move an AAP MP from the Upper House will need to resign and make way for the party supremo.
Sources stated that Kejriwal might move to the Upper House as a way to maintain his political influence. The belief in the party is that by becoming a Chief Minister or a Rajya Sabha MP, Keriwal will be able to continue to serve the people of the nation.
The AAP, which recently secured the national party tag, currently holds 10 Rajya Sabha seats —three from Delhi and seven from Punjab. While the validity of Delhi’s Rajya Sabha seats is valid till 2030, the Punjab RS seats have tenure until 2028.
The most viable route for Kejriwal is being seen through Punjab, where the party’s Rajya Sabha MP may be asked to resign.
However, any move to dislodge Bhagwant Mann or an AAP Rajya Sabha MP will expose Kejriwal to further criticism. The opposition parties are expected to target Kejriwal and claim that he has continued in an official position to further his political ambitions.
