Kejriwal Apologizes for Quitting, Seeks Fresh Election


NEW DELHI:  AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal apologized to the people for resigning as the Delhi chief minister in February and sought a fresh election.

Kejriwal made the statement a day after he told Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung not to dissolve the house so that he could explore the possibility of again forming a minority government.

"The chances of forming a government in Delhi are almost negligible. In such a situation, holding discussions does not make sense," he said, looking pensive.

"We have decided that we will prepare for elections (in Delhi)."

"We made a mistake, and I apologize for it," said Kejriwal, referring to his Feb 14 resignation after a 49-day stint following his failure to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed.

Kejriwal met Jung and asked him not to dissolve the Delhi assembly for a week. In a letter to Jung, he said AAP wanted to hold public meetings across Delhi to obtain people's views on government formation.

After the December 2013 election produced a hung assembly, the Congress, with eight legislators in the 70-seat house, extended support to the 28-member AAP to form a minority government.

Two independents also backed the AAP, which had fought its first election after its birth the previous year.

Source: IANS