Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he will resign from his position in two days, five months before his tenure ends.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief made the declaration while addressing party workers at the AAP office, just days after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi excise policy case, The Indian Express reports.
Kejriwal said: “After two days, I am going to resign from the post of CM. I will not sit on the CM’s seat till the people elect me and send me to power again.”
He also called for early elections in November, in sync with the Maharashtra polls, instead of the scheduled February 2025 date, Hindustan Times reports.
Kejriwal’s resignation came just two days after he had been released from prison on bail, where he spent six months in connection with the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe into the excise policy.
During the speech, Kejriwal launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government, accusing it of attempting to dismantle opposition parties. He also advised other opposition leaders, including Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, not to resign if they face similar charges.
Kejriwal confirmed that a meeting with AAP legislators would take place in the coming days to select his successor until the next elections.
Reactions to his announcement were swift. BJP leaders accused him of staging a “PR stunt,” claiming he is trying to restore his damaged image ahead of the polls.
“This is a PR stunt of Arvind Kejriwal. He has understood that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader but of a corrupt leader, today Aam Aadmi Party is known across the country as a corrupt party,” said BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari.
The Delhi Congress welcomed the resignation, criticizing Kejriwal for failing to step down during the city’s flood crisis and water shortage earlier this year, NDTV reports.
Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav said: “It would have been better if he had resigned when Delhi was facing floods and drinking water shortage. I hope Delhi soon gets a new chief minister who can go to his office and sign files.”
