How Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita is stepping up amid his absence

Sunita Kejriwal has created political ripples with her remarks that her husband, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, will reveal the “truth” in the “so-called” Delhi liquor scam on Thursday (28 March). In a brief video address posted on social media, she said the Enforcement Directorate (ED), who arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor last week, conducted over 200 searches but found nothing.

“Do they want to destroy Delhi? Do they want the people to keep suffering? Arvind Kejriwal is very pained by this… In the so-called liquor scam, ED has conducted more than 250 raids. They are searching for the money of this so-called scam," she said.

“They have found nothing yet… Arvind Kejriwal has said that he will reveal everything in the court on 28 March. He will reveal where the money of the liquor scam is… He will also provide proof,” the Delhi CM’s wife added.

This was the second time since Kejriwal’s arrest that his wife has stepped out of the shadows to make a public appearance.

Let’s take a closer look.

Arvind Kejriwal’s wife springs to limelight

Sunita Kejriwal first grabbed the spotlight on Saturday (23 March) when she read out a statement on behalf of her husband who has been in ED custody since 21 March.

The AAP shared the video across its social media channels. “I am Sunita Kejriwal. I am Arvind Kejriwal’s wife. Your son, your brother has sent a message for you from jail,” she said at the beginning of the over three-minute address.

“I want to appeal to all mothers and sisters, have faith in your son and brother. There is no prison that can keep your son and brother inside for too long. I will come out soon and fulfil my promises. Has there been any instance till date when Kejriwal did not fulfil any of his promises? Your son, and brother, is made of steel,” ThePrint quoted her as saying.

She also asked the women of Delhi not to fret over the continuance of the monthly assistance scheme of Rs 1,000 announced by the AAP government in February.

“There are several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country. We have to be alert, identify these forces and defeat them. Women in Delhi must be thinking that Kejriwal is behind bars. Who knows if they will get Rs 1,000? I appeal to them to trust their brother, their son, Sunita Kejriwal quoted her husband as saying.

The imagery was not lost and people were quick to notice the background in the video with portraits of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. She was also flanked by the national flag on both sides. The Delhi CM gives his media addresses like this and she was probably occupying the same chair as her husband.

Who is Sunita Kejriwal?

Sunita Kejriwal is a 1993-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. She met Kejriwal at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie during their training, as per ThePrint.

The duo later got married. Sunita Kejriwal has stood by her husband throughout the years, even when he quit his cushy Income Tax job to become an RTI activist and anti-corruption crusader.

After over two decades of service, she took voluntary retirement in 2016. Her last posting was as Commissioner of I-T in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Delhi, reported Times of India (TOI).

“During her posting in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Sunita, as a sharp investigator, handled cases of several big corporate houses,” an AAP functionary close to Kejriwal’s family told TOI.

When Kejriwal floated his own political party – AAP – in 2012, his wife was by his side. She was present with her husband at the office when the party won 28 seats in its debut elections in Delhi in 2013.

While she stayed away from day-to-day politics, Sunita Kejriwal has campaigned for the AAP in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. She went door-to-door spreading awareness about the party’s poll promises during the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, as per the TOI report.

After leaving her job, Sunita ensured she was around to hear the issues of the party leaders and workers, the report added.

Ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, Sunita Kejriwal was seen canvassing for votes for her “devar” Bhagwant Mann in the state.

She has also been spotted at religious events with her husband, be it attending Lakshmi puja during Diwali festivities at the Akshardham temple or visiting the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.

According to ThePrint, Sunita Kejriwal has many times shared images from her social media accounts to prop up Kejriwal’s family man image.

She was also there when the Delhi CM visited the families of senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, both arrested in the same liquor scam case, last Diwali.

What does it mean?

While the AAP has maintained that Kejriwal will remain Delhi CM even from behind bars, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attacked the party, demanding his resignation.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena said on Wednesday that the government will “not be run from jail.”

As pressure rises on the AAP, it has to be seen how long Kejriwal will remain in the CM chair. The BJP has claimed that Sunita Kejriwal is “in the race” to succeed her husband.

The parallels to Rabri Devi who took over the CM post in Bihar in 1997 after her husband, Lalu Prasad Yadav, was jailed in the fodder scam case have also come up.

Reacting to Sunita Kejriwal’s address on Wednesday, Union minister Anurag Thakur hinted that she might pull a Rabri Devi. “When Lalu Prasad Yadav was caught in the fodder scam, Rabri Devi used to make announcements and later she caught hold of the chair gradually.”

#WATCH | Jammu: On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal's address, Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, "When Lalu Prasad Yadav was caught in the fodder scam, Rabdi Devi used to make announcements and then she caught hold of the chair gradually. Arvind Kejriwal used to… pic.twitter.com/lKvEdrQDUK

According to ThePrint sources, the AAP has deployed Sunita Kejriwal to make emotional pitches, especially directed at the party’s women voters, to fully gain from what it feels is a “foolish move by the BJP to get Kejriwal arrested”.

CPI leader D Raja with a party delegation meets Sunita Kejriwal and her daughter to extend solidarity after Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in New Delhi, on 23 March 2024. PTI File Photo

AAP minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said last week that whatever “Kejriwal says is acceptable to the party” when asked about Sunita replacing her husband if push comes to shove. “Whenever the situation arises, we will decide,” he was quoted as saying by News18.

With inputs from agencies