India: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to quit, calls for early election

Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of India’s national capital territory of Delhi, said he would resign and called for elections to be brought forward just days after he was granted bail and released from prison.

“The court has ruled in our favour,” he told a gathering in Hindi on Sunday. Kejriwal, an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he would not accept the role of chief minister until the people had shown they believe he is honest. He called for Delhi elections, due to be held early next year, to be brought forward to November.

The Delhi leader was granted bail on Friday, after spending almost six months in prison without trial in a liquor-distribution case that alleged impropriety. The chief minister’s former deputy and other members of his Aam Aadmi Party have been arrested over the last few years but none has faced trial yet. The party has denied all allegations.

Kejriwal’s comments come as the election battles for key provinces heats up in India. Parties including Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party are looking for ways to boost support after disappointing general elections earlier this year, with polls due in states including Maharashtra and Haryana. AAP previously accused the BJP of using federal investigative agencies to target opposition leaders ahead of the elections.