Not The First Time Arvind Kejriwal Sought Early Election: Here’s How It Panned Out

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that he will resign from his Chief Ministerial position in two days. This move comes shortly after his release on bail from Tihar Jail in the ongoing excise policy case. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo has also demanded that elections be held in November.

"I will sit on the CM's chair only after being elected. The elections are supposed to be held in February, 2025. I demand elections be held in November along with Maharashtra elections. Till elections are held, someone else from the party will be the chief minister. In the next 2-3 days, a meeting of the MLAs will be held, where the next CM will be elected,” Kejriwal said in his address to the party workers.

Not the first time Kejriwal sought early election

This call for early elections is not unprecedented for Kejriwal. In February 2014, just 49 days after forming a government with the support of the Congress following the December 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, Kejriwal resigned from his position. 

The resignation came as a result of the inability to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, due to insufficient support from other political parties, which led to a call for fresh elections.

In a letter to then Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung , Kejriwal said: “There is no reason why the people of Delhi should be denied an elected government which can be formed after a fresh election.”

Similarly, in early 2020, prior to the Delhi Assembly elections in February, Kejriwal and his party advocated for early elections. Their call was fueled by frustrations with the central government's handling of Delhi's affairs and perceived delays in addressing local governance issues.