Arvind Kejriwal is a politician who probably likes to catch people unawares. Beset by charges of corruption, the AAP supremo resigned as Delhi chief minister on Tuesday and sought a referendum on his “politics of honesty”, the second time he has done so in his 11-year political career.Two days after he was released from Tihar Jail in the excise policy graft case, Kejriwal took everyone by complete surprise when he announced on Sunday he would resign as chief minister and return only if people give him a “certificate of honesty” in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls. Ever the politician with an eye on theatrical effect, he also sought early polls in the city.
Clever politics or foolish overreach. The jury will be out on whether Kejrwial played his cards wisely or miscalculated the risk till elections, due in February, are held. But the 55-year-old, who tendered his resignation to Lt Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday after picking senior AAP leader Atishi as his successor in the post, is someone who clearly enjoys doing the unexpected.
In December 2013, he took oath of office as chief minister for the first time. Just 49 days later,on February 14, 2014, he quit in a blaze of headlines after AAP’s alliance partner Congress opposed his pet project “Janlokpal Bill”.
That dramatic resignation was preceded by visuals of him sleeping in his blue Wagon R in the cold Delhi winter as he staged his protest.
Kejriwal, who first came into the limelight as part of Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption campaign, worked hard to seal his image as an everyday man holding his values close to his heart.
Declaring his latest decision to resign on Sunday, the IIT graduate and one-time RTI activist said he had stepped down first in 2014 because of his “principles”.
“Kejriwal has a mind of his own and he is always prepared to experiment and try political moves that border the risky territory. Maybe he is on the path of becoming the biggest political maverick in the history of the country’s politics,” a senior party leader told PTI on condition of anonymity after his decision to step down.
Kejriwal was not born into politics and chose not to join an established party but form his own from the ground up. The cleverly named Aam Aadmi Party has been led almost singlehandedly by him.
His party – projecting itself as a champion of public welfare initiatives to provide free electricity and water supply, health and education among others — has quickly grown in the fiercely contested political arena of the country.