New Delhi: A day after his unexpected declaration to step down within 48 hours, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has requested a meeting with Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The Lieutenant Governor has scheduled the meeting for 4:30 pm tomorrow. It is expected that during this meeting, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief will formally tender his resignation.
Before tendering his resignation, he will convene a legislative party meeting tomorrow at 11:30 am at his residence. The gathering aims to elect a new legislative party leader. According to sources, Kejriwal will submit his resignation as Chief Minister to Lieutenant Governor, along with the name of the newly elected legislative party leader and a letter of support, during the meeting.
‘Will return only with people’s mandate’
Kejriwal made the announcement while addressing a group of AAP supporters yesterday afternoon, catching many by surprise. “Two days from now, I will step down as chief minister. I won’t hold the position until the people’s verdict is declared. The Delhi elections are still months away. While I have received justice from the legal court, I now seek justice from the people’s court. I will only return to the chief minister’s office after the people’s mandate,” said the Chief Minister, which sparked political discussions.
“I want to ask the people of Delhi, is Kejriwal innocent or guilty? If I have delivered on my work, vote for me,” he urged, further saying that AAP MLAs will meet within the next two days to select a new chief minister for the capital.
The major announcement followed just days after the Supreme Court granted bail to Kejriwal, six months after his arrest in connection with a corruption case related to Delhi’s now-cancelled liquor policy. However, the court has placed a lot of conditions on his release.
Probable CM candidates
Manish Sisodia, senior AAP leader and Delhi former deputy chief minister, has said that he will also seek the people’s mandate and will only return to office after the election results. This indicates that the party will need to appoint a chief minister to lead Delhi for the interim period before the polls. Among the likely contenders for the position are Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Kailash Gahlot, along with AAP MPs Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh.
