Who will be Delhi's new Chief Minister? Here are top contenders for the post

Even though this Chief Ministerial stint will only be for a few months, as the Delhi assembly polls are scheduled for February next year, (even as AAP is pushing for early polls in November), the AAP leadership may want a candidate who can articulate the party's position on key issues and is widely accepted among the rank and file of the party.

No discussion yet on new CM

According to Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kejriwal will tender his resignation as chief minister tomorrow on Tuesday and the process to choose his replacement will start after that.

Bharadwaj added that there has been no discussion on who the next chief minister will be."Today is a holiday and tomorrow is the first working day of the week. He will tender his resignation tomorrow to Lt Governor and after the resignation is accepted, a meeting of party MLAs will be held to decide on the new name," he said at a press conference.

Bharadwaj said the candidate chosen will then present their claim to the president through the LG. "We have the majority and we will be invited and then the process for oath taking will happen. This should take a week," he added.

Are Sisodia and Sunita Kejriwal in the reckoning?

A highly likely contender for the CM’ s post, his close aide and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also an accused in the liquor policy case, has been ruled out by Kejriwal himself. For Kejriwal told party workers that Sisodia and he together would return to their respective posts only after people say they both are “honest”.

While some political observers suggested that Kejriwal’s wife, a former bureaucrat like himself, can be given the top post since she has been a prominent campaigner during the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat, others are skeptical.

Some argue that she fronted press conferences and read out Arvind Kejriwal's messages to the people sitting in the same chair her husband used to sit and deliver his video speeches and she had also prominently figured in INDIA bloc rallies. But, not being a AAP member and having to become an MLA within three months of being made CM, may work as constitutional hurdles in her path to the CM’s chair.

So, who are the other strong probables?

Atishi

Arvind Kejriwal had picked her to hoist the tricolour at Delhi government's Independence Day event (which was however foiled by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena) but this showed that the AAP leadership resposed a lot of faith in her.

A strong contender for the Delhi CM's post, the 43-year-old Atishi, an Oxford University alumnus and a Rhodes scholar, has been one of the most visible AAP leaders after Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March in the Delhi liquor policy case.

Currently, in charge of 14 departments, the highest among all the cabinet ministers, Atishi is recognised in the capital for having worked extensively in AAP’s flagship project to overhaul education in Delhi public schools.

Her strong oratory skills articulating the party’s stand especially with the top leadership completely missing in action, makes this MLA from Kalkaji, one of the frontrunners for the chief ministerial post.

Gopal Rai

A veteran politician with a background in labour rights and student activism, 49-year-old Gopal Rai is a key player in the Delhi’s political landscape. He is known for his grassroots work and extensive experience within AAP.

Currently, a cabinet minister for environment, forest and wildlife, Development and General Administration Department, Rai’s connection with Delhi's working-class communities and his efforts to address environmental issues, has made him popular with voters.

He has solid experience in dealing with Delhi’s issues ranging from pollution control to labour welfare, which make him a likely contender. Rai was once shot in the arm during an election campaign and had been partially paralysed but he has come out of it.

Kailash Gehlot

Kailash Gehlot is one of the seniormost leaders in the party. A lawyer by profession, he holds key portfolios such as transport, finance and home affairs. The 50-year-old leader is the MLA from Delhi's Najafgarh constituency since 2015. He is well-known in Delhi for his substantial work in improving the city’s transport infrastructure.

He had expanded bus services, introduced electric buses, and worked on measures to enhance road safety. Being a Cabinet minister, the AAP leader has shown that he has strong administrative capabilities and has an ability to manage large-scale projects and navigate bureaucratic complexities.

Gehlot is an advocate who has practised in both Delhi high court and the Supreme Court, and has served as a member executive in the high court bar association between 2005 and 2007.

Saurabh Bharadwaj

A former software engineer, Saurabh Bharadwaj is a three-time MLA from Greater Kailash and holds portfolios such as vigilance and health in the Arvind Kejriwal government. He is also a national spokesperson of the AAP and was articulating the party's position, when its top leaders were in jail after being arrested by central agencies in corruption cases.

He became a minister after Sisodia's arrest in the liquor policy case.