Now while 2025 The elections are barely five months away, It seems that the Centre has made a plan to remove Kejriwal from power by using its special powers. There are strong rumours that President’s rule will be imposed in Delhi soon.
Arvind Kejriwal has long been a thorn in the eye of the central government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP has tried several times to “get rid” of him, but has failed so far. In the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections too, the party had put in all its might to try to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party. But now that the 2025 elections are barely five months away, the Centre seems to have used its special powers to devise a strategy to remove Kejriwal and the AAP from power.
For the past several months, the BJP has been saying that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not resigning despite being in jail on charges related to the liquor scam, which has created a constitutional crisis in Delhi. In August, Delhi BJP MLAs met President Draupadi Murmu and handed her a letter. It demanded that the Delhi government be dismissed and President’s rule be imposed in view of the ‘constitutional crisis’. According to media reports, the President has forwarded the MLAs’ letter to the Union Home Ministry for action on this matter.
Since then, questions have been raised whether President’s rule will really be imposed in Delhi. President’s rule is imposed under Article 356 of the Constitution. According to this article, if the President is convinced that there has been a “breakdown in the constitutional machinery” in a state, then he can impose President’s rule there. Article 356 does not apply to Union Territories. Therefore, there is a separate provision under Part 239-AB in the Constitution to impose President’s rule in Delhi.
The last time President’s rule was imposed in Delhi was in February 2014. Then the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned from his post due to not being able to present the Lokpal Bill in the Assembly. But that was a different situation. If the Center does this this time, then it will be considered a step taken for political reasons. Therefore, it would be better if the Center shows patience for another five months.