Apologetic Kejriwal seeks fresh polls in Delhi

After performing far below expectations and bagging just 4 of 543 seats in the recently-concluded national elections, Kejriwal on Wednesday held a press conference  where he apologised for the resignation.

He ruled the possibility of holding a public referendum in Delhi, that has been without an elected government since mid-February, after earlier in the morning meeting members from the party.

"Many people are annoyed with us for resigning, they wanted us to continue. I apologise to the people of Delhi for this mistake. I should not have resigned," he said.

Admitting that the party is short of options to form government in Delhi with the Congress ruling out support to AAP again, Kejriwal said, “We will call for fresh elections."

"There are almost no chances of government formation in Delhi. We will travel across the capital to gauge people's mood," he said.

Kejriwal had on Tuesday had told Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung that his party wants to form the government in Delhi, and asked him not to dissolve the Legislative Assembly for a week.

In a letter to the Lt. Governor, the Aam Aadmi Party said it will hold public meetings in Delhi to obtain people's opinion on forming the government.

After remaining in power for 49 days, Kejriwal resigned as the Delhi Chief Minister as his minority AAP government-backed Jan Lokpal bill was not tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Feb 14.

The move has largely been seen as backfiring as the AAP lost much of its appeal with voters as the results of the Lok Sabha Election showed.

Commenting on Kejriwal's statement, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Harsh Vardhan said, "The public has already given a referendum in the form of a 7-0 sweep for BJP in Delhi dyring the Lok Sabha polls."

Meanwhile, the BJP might name former top cop- turned- social activist Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, said reports on Wednesday.

Reports quoting sorces said former BJP president Nitin Gadkari has told Bedi that if Harsh Vardhan gets inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet, she will be projected as the party's CM candidate for Delhi.

Pertinently, media buzz said Harsh Vardhan is likely to be named as the Union Health Minister.

Bedi on Tuesday hinted at joining politics.

"I no more rule out entering indian political service on capability basis. I am moving towards some flexibility in this," Bedi tweeted.

She was part of Gandhian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's team as the social activist fought for a strong Lokpal legislation in 2011.