Delhi assembly Speaker retires from electoral politics before polls

Ram Niwas Goel will continue to hold the Speaker’s position until the end of the current House term—February 23, 2025

Assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel, 76, has announced his retirement from electoral politics months before Delhi elections are due in February, citing his advanced age and health concerns. In a letter to ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal released on Thursday, Goel said he would continue to work for the party.

Speaker Ram Niwas Goel. (Delhi Govt / Shrikant Singh/ Ani)

Goel, who first became a Delhi assembly member in 1993 on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Shahdara, was re-elected to the House after 22 years in 2015 and picked as the Speaker.

Goel will continue to hold the Speaker’s position until the end of the current House term—February 23, 2025. “I have not resigned as Speaker, I will continue to be the Speaker till the end of the term,” Goel told HT.

In a post on X, Kejriwal praised Goel and called his decision to leave electoral politics an emotional moment. “His guidance has shown us the right direction inside and outside the House for years. Due to his increasing age and health, he recently expressed his desire to leave electoral politics...” He added they respected his decision.

Kejriwal called Goel the guardian of their family. “The party will always need his experience and services in the future too,” Kejriwal said.

A leader from the trader community and two-time AAP lawmaker, Goel was vocal in support of Kejriwal and other leaders when they were arrested for alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy. He also participated in protests against the BJP.

Born on January 5, 1948 in Safidon Mandi, Haryana, Goel is a Delhi University graduate and has been associated with the RSS, being actively involved in social work, especially in education, health and religion. He was elected MLA in 1993 when assembly elections took place in Delhi for the first time, but after completing his term he did not hold any elected office until 2015.

After the 2013 assembly elections, Goel joined the AAP and won from Shahdara in 2015. Kejriwal picked him as the Speaker of the Assembly based on his political experience. When the AAP returned to power in 2020, it decided to retain him as the Speaker.

During his term, Goel took several initiatives. He installed the portraits of 70 freedom fighters such as Ashfaqulla Khan, Bhagat Singh, Birsa Munda, and Tipu Sultan on the gallery walls of the assembly to inspire MLAs and visitors. He also installed the statues of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, installed a large Tricolour on a 150-feet-tall flag post, and constructed memorials to environmentalist Sundarlal Bahuguna and Covid-19 warriors. However, the installation of Tipu Sultan’s portrait was contentious and then BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa vowed to remove the portrait because Tipu Sultan was a “tyrant” who “forced several Hindus and Christians to embrace Islam.” The portrait, however, was not removed.

Goel also had multiple run-ins with the bureaucracy, especially the finance department of the Delhi government which, the Speaker said in 2023, was “attempting to undermine the House’s financial autonomy by rejecting requests for approvals or asking them to be re-routed through the legal department.” The finance department rejected the allegations.

Goel also renovated the assembly premises.

In his letter to Kejriwal dated November 25, Goel said he diligently fulfilled his responsibilities as a lawmaker and the Speaker for 10 years. “You have always given me great respect, for which I will remain eternally grateful. The party and all the MLAs [members of legislative assembly] have also given me much respect, and I express my gratitude...”

During a press conference at the AAP headquarters on Thursday afternoon, Kejriwal in response to a question said: “I have high regard for Ram Niwas Goel ji, he has been very close to me. He sent me a letter (announcing retirement) a few days ago. I tried hard to convince him to continue to remain in electoral politics but he cited his advanced age and ill health. He will be with AAP, but he has decided not to contest the election. We respect his decision.”