Sheila Dikshit lost, now Narendra Modi's turn, chant Arvind Kejriwal's supporters

New Delhi: "Pehle Sheila hari hai, Ab Modi ki baari hai" shouted scores of Aam Aadmi Party supporters as they waited at Hanuman Road in the heart of Delhi for Chief Minister Kejriwal to arrive at the party office.

Mr Kejriwal was at the Delhi Secretariat writing his resignation letter, 49 days after he was sworn in as one of Delhi's youngest chief ministers.

Earlier in the evening, he suffered a major embarrassment after his move to table the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal bill was struck down in the Delhi assembly. He had said earlier that he would resign if the bill was blocked.

At the AAP office, hundreds have gathered in the past two hours. Supporters backed Mr Kejriwal's decision to quit saying he should fight the national election, due by May. "He should resign. He will win the Lok Sabha election and come back as Prime Minister," said a supporter.

Another said, "Today is Valentine's Day. Arvind Kejriwal has shown his love for the people by sacrificing his chair. Sacrifice is another name for love."

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The Congress and BJP, whose efforts blocked the Jan Lokpal Bill today, have repeatedly accused Mr Kejriwal of being disinterested in governance. They have alleged that he has been precipitating the fall of his own Delhi government because he is more interested in national politics.   

Emboldened by its stunning debut in the Delhi Assembly elections last December, the AAP has said it will contest a massive over 350 seats in the general elections.

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Asked in an NDTV interview last week whether he would consider playing giant killer again - he defeated his predecessor Sheila Dikshit by over a wide margin in Delhi in his first election - by contesting against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi or the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Mr Kejriwal did not deny such a plan.

He said a partyman had already been chosen to contest against Mr Gandhi and then, with a smile, posed a counter-question, 'Is Mr Modi contesting the Lok Sabha elections?"

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BJP chief Rajnath Singh answered that yesterday. "Yes, Mr Modi will definitely contest the Lok Sabha elections," Mr Singh told NDTV.

Mr Kejriwal and his party have said they discount the ruling Congress as a political opponent and see the national elections as a fight between Mr Modi's BJP and AAP.