With Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal set to surrender on Sunday after his interim bail plea was deferred to June 5, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is prepared to run Delhi from Tihar Jail. Kejriwal, who was arrested on May 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, is out on interim bail till June 1. In a virtual press conference Friday, he said he will leave his house at 3 pm on Sunday to surrender in Tihar. Now that the CM has to return to prison, a senior AAP leader told The Indian Express that "things will not change on the ground, he will still be the CM and run the government from jail”. How will this work? "When the CM was in jail, our national general secretary Sandeep Pathak was managing things on the ground like who will be given what role, election meetings and campaign planning. he will continue to manage the core party functioning in the CM's absence. Durgesh Pathak was looking after alliance issues in Delhi where AAP and Congress are contesting Lok Sabha polls together; as MCD in-charge, he will also focus on the civic body. Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj have been given charge of managing the overall government functioning. Besides, other ministers will monitor their departments,'' the leader said. “Gopal Rai who is looking after (AAP's) Delhi unit and is a top leader of the party will be planning to increase party activity in Delhi. He is also Environment minister,'' he said, adding, “. Sanjay Singh ji will raise the party's voice in the Rajya Sabha and boost workers' spirit”. These leaders, along with Jasmine Shah and Kailash Gahlot, are the top faces of the party. Atishi holds the most number of portfolios, including Education, Finance, Power, Water, Revenue and others. "Now, as the Lok Sabha polls are over and the result will declared in a few days. the focus will be back on the government. Each minister, like earlier, will meet the CM in jail and discuss their projects, initiatives and issues of their departments. The CM will review ongoing works in each department," the leader said. The link between the Chief Minister inside jail and his cabinet and party, the leader said, “will be Sunita Kejriwal”. He said “those who think she (Sunita) will become CM are wrong”. "Sunita ji is not interested in active politics, but she will play a key role in the party leadership. she will be meeting the CM frequently so she will bring his messages to the ministers, party and people on a daily basis." With the Delhi Assembly polls slated for next year, leaders including Rai and Singh will start work in this direction. The AAP leader said MP Raghav Chadha will be focusing on his “role in Punjab party work”. The leader said the CM going back to jail will indeed be a setback to the party. “But he has prepared both the party and the cabinet to face this. He (CM) has put in place a plan, with each leader assigned a specific role so the government runs smoothly,'' he said. A source in the AAP said the CM also issued strict directions regarding the "Mahila Samman Rashi” scheme. This scheme, a key feature of AAP government's Ram Rajya themed Budget for 2024-25, will provide a Rs 1,000 honorarium to eligible women every month. “The CM has stressed on starting work on the scheme as soon the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is lifted. The aim is to implement it before the Delhi Assembly polls early next year," another senior party leader said. “The AAP government will also approach the court requesting to provide facilities inside jail so the CM is able to hold virtual meetings through video conferencing,'' the leader said. The CM had said in his interview to The Indian Express that they will file a plea in court to facilitate the process of running the government from jail. AAP sources also confirmed this.
