Pulse check: How Arvind Kejriwal’s anticipated successors fare online

Sunita Kejriwal, Atishi or Saurabh Bhardwaj? Who could potentially take over the job of arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal? While speculations are still on, India Today analysed social media posts and online search data to gauge the mood among netizens.

After Kejriwal’s arrest in the alleged liquor policy corruption case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), BJP leaders have claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was on track to name his wife Sunita to helm the Delhi government.

Officially, the AAP says its Chief Minister will continue to discharge his duties from behind bars. However, experts argue that that strategy could severely hamper government functioning or risk the imposition of the President’s rule.

India Today's analysis shows minister Atishi has a clear lead over her peers in terms of social media conversations and Internet search volume, closely followed by Kejriwal’s former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer wife Sunita. Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj comes at a distant third.

Sunita, however, stands out. User interest in various aspects of her life started rising following her husband’s arrest on March 21 and reached its pinnacle after she released a video two days later.

There was negligible interest and talks about Sunita in the online realm before Kejriwal’s arrest, whereas Atishi and Bharjwad dominated AAP’s online space due to their official position, political engagements/statements, and interactions with the press.

The terms ‘Sunita Kejriwal’, ‘àä¸àåàäèàå€àääàä¾ àä•àå‡àäœàä°àå€àäµàä¾àä²’, and #SunitaKejriwal raked up nearly 1.6 lakh posts and garnered more than 13 lakh engagements i.e. likes, reposts, and replies to posts containing these terms on X (formerly Twitter) alone between March 22 and March 28.

The analysis shows that she invoked online curiosity every time she released video statements – on March 23, March 27, and March 29. Users seem to be interested in knowing her educational qualifications, job and age, and about her family members and news related to her. They also searched for videos of her press conference.

Arvind Kejriwal’s ED custody was extended till April 1 by a Delhi court on March 28. During his production before the court, he accused the central agency of trying to help the BJP bring down his government and poach AAP MLAs.

INTERESTING SETTING OF PRESS CONFERENCES

In all of her three press briefings, Sunita Kejriwal sat in the same setting as her husband would frequently do, with tricolours and photographs of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh in the background.

This striking similarity has become another talking point in political circles.

She read out the Chief Minister’s message in her first two press statements. “There is no jail that can keep him behind bars for long. I will come out soon and keep my promise,” she said on March 23, quoting her husband.

On March 29, she announced a campaign “Kejriwal ko aashirvaad” and released a WhatsApp number, urging people to send messages addressed to him.