Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to step down in two days

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that he will resign as the chief minister of Delhi in the next two days.

The 56-year-old politician's decision has come two days after the Indian Supreme Court granted him bail in the excise policy case, Hindustan Times reports.

The apex court said his “prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty”.

The Delhi chief minister said that he would only accept the chief ministerial position if the people confirm his honesty in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

“We will go to the court of people to prove our innocence,” he said.

Kejriwal's political career began with his role in the India Against Corruption movement led by actvisit Anna Hazare in 2011, which aimed to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Inspired by the movement and the call for clean governance, Kejriwal founded the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2012. The party contested the Delhi assembly elections in 2013 and won 28 of 70 seats, leading to Kejriwal becoming Delhi's chief minister.

However, he resigned after 49 days due to ‘difficulties’ in passing the Jan Lokpal Bill. Later, AAP won a landslide victory in the 2015 elections, securing 67 of 70 seats and Kejriwal was re-elected.

He won again in 2020 and represents the New Delhi constituency.