It is believed that Sunita Kejriwal is to be CM, says Raaj Anand

Kejriwal being taken to court. File pic/PTI

At a time when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of plotting a political conspiracy to derail the Delhi government, discussions are abuzz in political corridors that differences are emerging within AAP, with key politicians eyeing the chief ministerial post, but the jailed CM Arvind Kejriwal is yet to step down.

Party workers, as well as heavyweights within the party, are internally upset as Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of the jailed CM, is gearing up to succeed him in Delhi politics. There are posters in Devanagari put up at the AAP head office in Delhi reading 'Jail ka jawab, Vote se' with a photograph of Arvind Kejriwal behind bars. Most AAP politicians have made the picture their WhatsApp display picture.

Despite the relentless work within AAP, many leaders are tight-lipped about discussing anything openly. However, internal meetings at the party office in Delhi hint at the differences. Sources within the party suggest that the opposition will surely exploit the 'differences within the party'. Party workers are worried as campaigning needs to be done ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. "But who will lead the campaign in the absence of Kejriwal? It has not been revealed yet," said an AAP worker.

The recent resignation of Kejriwal's old aide Raaj Kumar Anand, hints that the beleaguered party is facing a serious crisis. Anand had been associated with AAP since its inception. After resigning, Anand told the media that AAP, embroiled in graft, wanted to change the political scene in India, "but the politics did not change, the politicians changed," said Anand.

When contacted, Anand said, "To the best of my knowledge and as per my information, it is believed that Sunita Kejriwal will become the chief minister of Delhi. Let's see what happens; I have already quit AAP." "I don't think that the political party, which is not functioning as per the Constitution of India, will ever participate in a long political race. The political party, which has been using the photographs of Baba Saheb Ambedkar everywhere but is not respecting his words, is going to face a crisis in the future," Anand added.

People within AAP told mid-day that politicians want to grab the post of Delhi CM, "but Kejriwal has not stepped down yet," said the source. "The heavyweights in AAP have been eyeing the CM post. But Kejriwal is yet to resign. Instead, his wife Sunita Kejriwal has suddenly started to come forward to support her jailed husband. Like me, there are many others who have been working for the party since day one. There are many others within the party to lead the party from the front in times of crisis. But it will be possible only if Kejriwal steps down," said an AAP leader, requesting anonymity.

In light of the rapid political developments in Delhi, BJP leaders wasted no time in drawing parallels between Sunita and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, who assumed leadership after RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's incarceration. mid-day tried to contact the AAP leaders, but most of them had not bothered to respond.