26 years apart, how Atishi has Sushma Swaraj parallels

Atishi, who was on Tuesday named the Chief Minister of Delhi, has an uncanny connection with Sushma Swaraj, who had a brief 52-day stint as the Delhi CM. Though there’s a gap of 26 years, the circumstances in which Atishi and Swaraj, a BJP leader, became Delhi chief ministers are similar.
Two days after AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal created a storm by announcing that he would resign from the CM’s post, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday officially announced that Atishi would take over the reins of the Delhi government for the remainder of the Assembly’s term, which concludes in February 2025.
Atishi is expected to take the oath of office next week and will be the third woman to become the chief minister of Delhi.
Sushma Swaraj, who became the CM in October 1998, was the first woman CM of Delhi. Congress’ Sheila Dixit, who followed Swaraj, was Delhi’s second woman CM.
Between Swaraj and Atishi being the chief minister, there’s a gap of 26 years. But there’s a parallel. Like the AAP is witnessing, the BJP then faced a crisis which led Swaraj to take charge of the Delhi government. Also, both became chief ministers just months ahead of the Assembly elections.
Sushma Swaraj’s brief tenure as Delhi’s Chief Minister in 1998, lasting just 52 days, was one of the chapters of her illustrious political journey.
At a time when the BJP was battling internal instability, the backlash of onion price inflation, and the public’s growing dissatisfaction. Two BJP CMs had to resign in quick succession and Swaraj was on a firefighting mission, just ahead of the 1998 Assembly polls.
Similarly, Atishi finds herself in a politically volatile situation with corruption charges threatening AAP’s top brass, including the outgoing CM Arvind Kejriwal and the former deputy CM Manish Sisodia. With Atishi as the chief minister of Delhi, it is now almost certain that the AAP would try to distance itself from the taint and jump into the campaign to showcase its achievements.
In 1996, Delhi’s BJP-led government that was voted to power in 1993, saw a major crisis due to corruption allegations against then Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana and BJP President LK Advani in the Jain Hawala scandal.
Khurana, who was known as ‘Dilli ka Sher’ within the party, was instrumental in the party’s rise in Delhi.
Under intense pressure, Khurana had to resign. This led to the appointment of Sahib Singh Verma, another tall leader of Delhi BJP.
However, Verma’s tenure was short-lived too.
Under Verma, the BJP government in Delhi struggled to manage economic issues like soaring onion prices that led to massive public discontent, right before the scheduled polls in 1998.
In the run-up to the 1998 elections, in October, the BJP decided to replace Verma with Sushma Swaraj, hoping her leadership could revive their chances of keeping Delhi.
Sushma’s leadership, although a strategic choice, was plagued by anti-incumbency and mounting inflation. But, she acted fast on the onion prices front and set up a committee to look into it. She even ordered setting up vans for distribution of onions.
“[Delhi] Police was not under the CM, but she would carry out inspections at police stations to see if they were working to address the problems of the people,” BJP veteran Ved Vyas Mahajan told the Hindustan Times, recalling her 52-day tenure.
Sushma Swaraj was no political novice.
She became the BJP state president of Haryana in 1979, at the age of 27. She was a two-time MLA from the agrarian state. Like Atishi, Swaraj too handled a bunch of portfolios, including education, in the Devi Lal government.
Swaraj was also a Rajya Sabha MP by 1990.
Despite the efforts of a seasoned Swaraj, the BJP faced a crushing defeat. The anti-incumbency of four years and the onion price rise came to bite the BJP, resulting in the victory of Congress under Sheila Dikshit.
However, that did not go in vain as Swaraj’s brief tenure demonstrated her political agility and willingness to take on difficult roles amid crisis, setting the stage for her later rise to national prominence.
Fast-forward to 2024, and a strikingly similar situation has unfolded in Delhi.
Outgoing CM Arvind Kejriwal, once the face of anti-corruption politics, now stands accused in a corruption scandal himself. Thus, the AAP, which swept the Delhi elections on the back of promises of clean governance, thrice, finds itself entangled in the very system it sought to reform. Kejriwal’s announcement of resignation, following his release from jail, echoes the turbulence the BJP faced in the late 1990s in Delhi.
Amid the uncertainty, Atishi, a key member of Kejriwal’s Cabinet, has risen through the ranks in the absence of the party’s top brass. Atishi, with her strong voice, spoke out extensively on policy matters with clarity and depth. She often defended the AAP leadership and hit out at the BJP for witch-hunting AAP leaders, including the CM.
A Rhodes Scholar with a strong background in education and governance, Atishi has carved out a reputation for herself as a diligent leader, who carried out education reforms in Delhi.
Much like Sushma Swaraj’s sudden rise to the chief ministerial post, Atishi is now faced with the task of navigating the fallout from Kejriwal’s resignation and restoring the party’s damaged image.
The comparison becomes even more interesting as the AAP is going to seek votes ahead of the assembly polls scheduled in February 2025. However, just as Sushma faced an uphill battle against anti-incumbency and economic woes, Atishi is likely to face her own share of challenges. With a section of public dissatisfaction growing over the Kejriwal administration and anti-incumbency, Atishi’s ability to lead AAP through the crisis will be tested just like voters evaluated Swaraj based on the rule of her predecessors.