New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case raised the question - who will be the next Delhi Chief Minister? The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) says he continues to govern from jail. Arvind Kejriwal's chosen messenger, however, is wife Sunita Kejriwal.
Sunita Kejriwal today made her third video announcement on behalf of the AAP chief, announcing a "Kejriwal ko aashirwad" campaign and urging people to share messages on a WhatsApp number shared by her. The latest video provoked a sharp attack from the ruling BJP, with Union Minister Hardeep Puri today saying Sunita Kejriwal "is preparing for the role of Chief Minister".
Here are 5 facts on Sunita Kejriwal:
- Sunita Kejriwal is a former Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer, who served in the Income Tax (I-T) department for 22 years.
- She met Arvind Kejriwal during a training programme in Bhopal. Sunita is from a 1994 batch IRS officer, while Mr Kejriwal is a 1995-batch officer.
- The 58-year-old opted for voluntary retirement from the I-T department in 2016. Her last posting was at the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Delhi where she served as the Income Tax Commissioner.
- She was often seen with Arvind Kejriwal during the Indian Against Corruption movement, and during the early days of the Aam Aadmi Party. She even took a leave from office to help Mr Kejriwal contest against Narendra Modi from Varanasi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
- After a thumping win in the 2015 Delhi assembly polls, where AAP secured 67 of the 70 seats, Arvind Kejriwal's first tweet was dedicated to Sunita. "Thank u Sunita for always being there," he had posted.