Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal (R) receives a rose as he arrives to address a press conference at the party headquarters in Ghaziabad
Arvind Kejriwal will be the new Chief Minister of Delhi. His one-year-old Aam Aadmi Party or AAP will form government in Delhi with external support from the Congress. "This is not my victory but that of the aam aadmi (common man). The aam aadmi will be chief minister, not me," Mr Kejriwal said after meeting Lieutenant Governor Nadeem Jung.
THE TEN LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STORY:
Arvind Kejriwal has requested that his oath-taking ceremony be held at Delhi's massive Ramlila grounds, from where his one-time mentor Anna Hazare and he had launched their anti-corruption campaign in 2011. The date for the swearing-in has not been finalised yet. (LIVE updates here)
This morning, AAP announced that it would stake claim to form government after what it called overwhelming approval from the public in a referendum conducted over the last few days. "74% of the people have favoured that the party should form the government," said AAP leader Manish Sisodia.(Read more...)
The Congress' Sheila Dikshit, who was denied a fourth term as chief minister by Mr Kejriwal in the recent Delhi election, congratulated Mr Kejriwal but made it clear that her party's support is "not unconditional." She told NDTV, "Our support is dependent on their performance. I hope he can fulfill his promises. We are aware that it is impossible to fulfill those promises." (Sheila Dikshit's message to AAP)
Mr Kejriwal has said AAP will fulfill all its election promises, most of which have been criticised as unrealistic and unimplementable by seasoned political rivals like the Congress and the BJP. (Arvind Kejriwal's top 5 promises to Delhi)
The Aam Aadmi Party made a stunning debut in the Delhi elections, winning 28 of the 70 seats in the new Assembly, second only to the BJP, but eight short of a majority. The Congress' eight legislators are helping AAP bridge the deficit. ('Mango man' Arvind Kejriwal, India's newest political star)
The BJP has called AAP's decision a betrayal and said it had done a volte-face from its position that it would not accept support from the Congress, its chief target during the election campaign. "AAP accused the Congress of being the most corrupt. Today they have compromised on their principles. This is gross betrayal," said Dr Harsh Vardhan of the BJP. (Read more...)
Mr Kejriwal's former mentor Anna Hazare said on AAP's alliance with the Congress, "Let them do what they think is good, I don't wish to comment." The two men had engineered the massive anti-corruption campaign for the Lokpal Bill in 2011, but fell apart last year over Mr Kejriwal's decision to launch a political party. ('No comment' from Anna)
Arvind Kejriwal is trending on Twitter. So are AAP, Ramlila Maidan and Manish Sisodia.
Manish Sisodia, AAP spokesperson and Mr Kejriwal's close aide, is among the front-runners for a cabinet post in the new government. Among others being talked about as possible ministers are Vinod Kumar Binny of Lakshmi Nagar and Rakhi Birla of Mangolpuri.(Meet AAP's giant killers)
Congress' Digvijaya Singh congratulated Mr Kejriwal and said, "It is between AAP and Delhi congress. I congratulate him. I appreciate his courage. He needs to fulfil his promises. By entering politics, he has strengthened democracy." (AAP forms government in Delhi: Who said what)
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