Tale of two women: AAP's public messaging after Kejriwal’s arrest

New Delhi: Two women are in the forefront of AAP’s public messaging efforts after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. There is Kejriwal's wife Sunita, a former IRS officer who delivers the political messaging, while Minister Atishi, an Oxford alumni, has become the face of AAP administration in Delhi.

The choices in all probability have Kejriwal’s sanction and part of a cleverly crafted plan put in place to avoid unnecessary trouble over the leadership question. AAP insists there is no vacancy in leadership and it does not matter whether Kejriwal is in jail or outside.

Putting Sunita and Atishi on the forefront has also checked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s growing standing in the party in the absence of Kejriwal.

It was Sunita who delivered her husband’s message from custody in a video that went viral. She had quit IRS and has mostly lived in the shadow of her husband after he took over the CM mantle in Delhi.

Before the video on Saturday, a tweet on Friday had announced her entry into the political sphere with a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Kejriwal’s arrest.

The setting – tricolour and images of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh in the background that was a regular feature in Kejriwal’s press conferences – set tongues wagging about a possible succession plan in case Kejriwal decides to hang his boots while in prison.

Atishi, on the other hand, was part of the political messaging too, along with being the face of the government. However Sunita’s viral video left the AAP cadre in no doubt that Kejriwal’s wife's political profile was officially on the rise, and in turn, so has her stock in party circles.

“AAP is sensitive to its urban, middle class support base. So they have taken a nuanced stance. It does not appear to do a ‘Rabri Devi’ type of succession plan... But this also has its limitations. If Kejriwal’s detention is prolonged like that of Satyendar Jain or Manish Sisodia, then they will have to take a call,” political analyst Rashid Kidwai told DH.

If Sunita was the medium to send Kejriwal’s political messaging – where he addressed his core voters, women, with a specific promise about fulfilling the promise to give them Rs 1,000 per month – Atishi was sent an ‘official’ instruction to handle an administrative issue.

If Atishi was on the streets protesting and being detained and stopped by police, Sunita restricted her activities indoors but made daily visits to the ED office to meet Kejriwal. She also interacted with visiting national leaders over phone and in person.

Sunita, who married Kejriwal 29 years ago, has been supportive of Kejriwal when he took a plunge into activism after quitting the IRS. She campaigned for AAP after her resignation from service in 2015.

The profile of Atishi, who joined AAP and was working as consultant to the Education Ministry on a salary of Rs 1, has been on the rise in the party and when she was inducted into the government, she was given the stature of Manish Sisodia minus the tag of Deputy Chief Minister. Like Sisodia, Kejriwal trusts Atishi and has put her at the helm of 18 departments.