Resigning as Delhi CM was a mistake, says Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday admitted that his decision to resign as the chief minister of Delhi was a mistake, but added that his party would return to power with a majority.

"I admit that my resignation was a mistake, we should have asked the people before doing so... As soon as I resigned, all the initiatives that I took were reversed. There is something wrong with the system. The Congress and the BJP came together and did not let us work in the city. I resigned anticipating the dissolution of the state assembly and with the idea that we will come back to power in the re-election," Kejriwal told ANI in an exclusive interview.

"What I did not anticipate was that President's rule would be imposed and that the elections would not take place for over eight months," he added.

Kejriwal also took umbrage over the media projection that his sitting in protest as the chief minister was a ploy to gain public support.

"I think the media has projected me in a negative light as far as the protests are concerned. I went on a protest because the safety of women is not something I can compromise upon. The first move I made when I was the chief minister was to summon the Police Commissioner and told him firmly that I would hold the police accountable for incidents of rapes. When three such incidents took place, I went on a protest," he said.

"It was not a ploy. Sitting on the road in the winter in Delhi cannot be a ploy. People called me an anarchist for doing so. Narendra Modi had sat on a three-day protest in 2007 to support the Narmada Dam, but no one said anything. Nitish Kumar sat on a protest, but no one said anything," Kejriwal added.

Kejriwal further said that he was confident that the AAP would come to power with an absolute majority this time.

"I am confident that we will get full majority. I am expecting that we will win around 45 seats. If you go to Uttar Pradesh, people are crying out for the resignation of the Samajwadi Party, similarly in Punjab, they want the Akali Dal to go. However, in Delhi, they ask us why we resigned. People were so happy with our government that they want us to be voted back into power," he added.

With the Union Cabinet recommending the dissolution of the Delhi Assembly and setting the stage for fresh elections in the days to come, political parties have begun finalizing their poll campaign strategy to grab power here.

President's rule was imposed in Delhi since February after the Kejriwal-led AAP government stepped down after remaining in power for 49 days.