Published: 11:46, September 16, 2024 | Updated: 14:11, September 16, 2024
Arvind Kejriwal, just out of prison, to resign as Delhi chief minister
By Reuters
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, speaks to his followers in the rain as he comes out of Tihar prison after being granted bail by the country's highest court, in New Delhi, India, Sept 13, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Indian opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday he will resign as chief minister of the Delhi regional government, two days after he was released from prison on bail in a graft case.

Kejriwal was granted bail on Friday by India's Supreme Court and left prison in the evening almost six months after being detained in relation to alleged irregularities in the capital city's liquor policy.

Kejriwal is a fierce critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a former anti-corruption crusader whose decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) quickly rose to mainstream politics, although its clout is relatively small compared to older opposition parties.

READ MORE: India opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal granted bail in graft case

AAP had expected that Kejriwal's release from prison would allow him to campaign as a chief minister in regional elections next month in the northern state of Haryana, and in Delhi early next year.

Arvind Kejriwal (center), Chief Minister of Delhi and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), greets his supporters after Supreme Court granted him bail in New Delhi on Sept 13, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Kejriwal, announcing his resignation as chief minister at a meeting with AAP workers, said he would only return to the post if people certify his honesty by voting for him in the upcoming Delhi election. He called on the Election Commission to bring forward the Delhi election to November, from February 2025.

"I demand elections be held in November with Maharashtra elections, I demand the elections be held immediately," Kejriwal said.

READ MORE: India's top court grants bail to opposition leader Kejriwal in graft case

He was first taken into custody in March by India's financial crime-fighting agency, weeks before the country's national elections, in relation to Delhi's liquor policy.

Although he was granted bail in that case in July, he remained in detention due to his arrest the previous month by the federal police in another graft case related to the same policy.

Kejriwal, 55, and AAP deny the allegations and say the cases are "politically motivated".