Kejriwal’s decision to resign is unexpected. He is hitting multiple targets with one arrow. He is responding to corruption and garnering sympathy.
In politics, surprising the voters and your opponents or taking unexpected decisions has its own importance. Arvind Kejriwal understands this very well. That is why he often surprises with his decisions. Remember how much effort he put in to form an alliance with the Congress in December 2013. He formed the government with the help of eight MLAs of the same party against which he had fought and when it seemed that everything was going well, he resigned after just 49 days. That resignation was unexpected and after that the majority that the Aam Aadmi Party got in the elections held in February 2015 was also unexpected. Similarly, Kejriwal’s decision to resign this time is also unexpected. It was generally believed that he would resign if he was arrested or sent to jail. But he did not resign then and now when no one expected it, he announced his resignation.
His resignation is a mixed result of many circumstances. Behind this is the strategy for the elections to be held after five months but there are some other circumstances as well. For example, whatever claims Kejriwal’s party may make, he knew that the conditions imposed by the Supreme Court for his bail have tied his hands. He will not be able to take any major policy decision. If the government takes populist decisions, there is a separate danger of the Lieutenant Governor stopping it. In such a situation, if he himself remains in the Chief Minister’s chair, it will be difficult to answer the public in the elections. Secondly, he had realized that the arrest has not generated much sympathy, so he has tried to gain sympathy by leaving the Chief Minister’s chair. He knows that the term of the Assembly is less than five months left. Therefore, there is no problem in becoming a martyr by cutting nails. He has been the Chief Minister for more than nine and a half years.
Another reason is that he wanted to answer the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue of corruption and send a message to the voters of Delhi. Ever since his name came up in the Delhi liquor policy case and he was arrested, BJP leaders have been demanding Arvind Kejriwal to resign from the post of Chief Minister. Even after his release from jail, the demand for resignation has not stopped. Kejriwal has now announced his resignation. So, now he will be able to answer every attack of BJP leaders that he has resigned.