Indian capital chief minister's resignation strategy for general elections

The chief minister of the Indian capital, Arvind Kejriwal, resigned late Friday evening after his anti-corruption bill was blocked in the Delhi assembly. "Our attempt to fight corruption by bringing in the Jan Lokpal (Ombudsman) Bill has been blocked by the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). My cabinet has decided that we are quitting. Here is my resignation letter," the 45-year-old head of the anti-graft Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said in an address to his supporters outside his party headquarters here. However, experts say that Kejriwal's resignation, which came barely 49 days after the AAP formed the government in the Indian capital with outside support from the Congress party, is actually part of "a bigger political strategy" ahead of the general elections slated for May. "The blockage of the Jan Lokpal Bill by the Congress and the BJP was used as an excuse by Kejriwal to give up power. His main aim is to again come back to power in the Indian capital, this time with a full majority, as well as to grab some seats in the upcoming general elections," Delhi-based political analyst Prof Ajay Sharma said. He claimed that the AAP head would now go to people, saying that India's two major political parties -- the Congress, India's ruling party and Delhi's opposition party, as well as the BJP, in opposition both in India and the national capital -- did not support him on his anti-corruption agenda and thus garner some sympathy votes of millions already frustrated by corruption scandals involving the Indian government. The AAP has already announced to contest in over 350 out of 543 parliamentary seats in the general elections. "Kejriwal is seen by many in this country as a common man determined to weed out corruption. So, his resignation in the wake of the Congress and the BJP's opposition to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill would actually help him in his and AAP's political future. This was nothing but a political strategy which the anti-graft activist turned politician gambled, and it may pay off," said another expert Prof S.K. Singh. The AAP came to power in Delhi in assembly polls held in December last year, bagging some 27 seats in the 70-member assembly. Though it became the second biggest party, after the BJP which got 32 seats, the AAP formed the government with outside support from the Congress party which was in power for 15 years but was decimated to just eight legislators. Kejriwal, who defeated the Indian capital's three-time Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the prestigious New Delhi constituency in last year's polls, kept some key promises on his party's election manifesto after assuming power, like providing free water up to 20 liters a day and halving power tariff. "But he had said that he would resign if his Jan Lokpal Bill, another major promise on his party's poll manifesto, was not passed. Now, he clearly knew that he needed Indian Home Ministry's permission to introduce the Bill, but still trying to table it unconstitutionally was nothing but a planned strategy to exit power to garner sympathy votes in the general elections," Singh said. Time will only tell whether Kejriwal's political plan would succeed, given the country's embattled ruling Congress party is facing its worst ever defeat in the upcoming general elections and many opinion polls suggest a victory for the BJP under its controversial prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi who is a darling of the India's middle class.