Arvind Kejriwal Resigns As Delhi Chief Minister (image-X/AamAadmiParty)

Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal officially resigned on Tuesday evening, two days after he announced his surprising decision to resign from the post. As he arrived at the LG secretariat to tender his resignation, Kejriwal was accompanied by his successor, Atishi, who handed over the letter of support from the AAP MLAs to the LG VK Saxena, staking claim to head the government.

After he was released from Tihar jail on Friday in the excise policy corruption case, Kejriwal announced his decision to resign on Sunday. “I will only sit in CM’s chair after people give me a certificate of honesty,” stated the AAP leader.

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Earlier today, Kejriwal proposed Atishi as his successor. The Kalkaji MLA, who holds maximum portfolios in the AAP government, will take over from party chief Kejriwal with just months left for the Delhi Assembly elections.

Atishi was the frontrunner for the post as she had assumed a central role in the party after the arrest of Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case. In March, when Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and with Sisodia in jail, there was no second in command in the party or the government. Atishi took a central stand and led the government’s charge during Lok Sabha elections, emerging as one of the most visible AAP leaders.

Kejriwal was first arrested by the ED on March 21, weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, following which he was taken into custody by the CBI on June 26. Though he was granted bail in July, the former chief minister remained in detention due to his arrest a month previously by the federal police in a graft case related to the same policy.

Challenging the arrest, Kejriwal sought bail and was finally granted interim bail by the Supreme Court, six months after his arrest. While granting bail, Justice Bhuyan remarked that the CBI must rise above the public perception of being a “caged parrot,” He stressed the need for the agency to act impartially and avoid high-handed tactics.

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Justice Bhuyan further raised concerns over the urgency of Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI, pointing out that the timing of the arrest raised more questions than it answered. Kejriwal was interrogated by the CBI in March 2023, but the agency did not arrest him then. The court noted the CBI’s sudden move to seek the AAP leader’s custody after nearly 22 months of inactivity, and suggested the move was strategically timed to frustrate the bail granted in the ED case.

While announcing his decision to resign on Sunday, Kejriwal said, “I will not sit in the Chief Minister’s chair until the people’s verdict is announced. I will only return to the chair if the people vote for me,” adding, “We will go to the court of people to prove our innocence.”