New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) The minority Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government won a crucial trust vote in the Delhi assembly Thursday after the Congress and two other legislators extended support to it.
With only 28 legislators in the 70-member house, the AAP needed the backing of the Congress – whose 15-year rule ended in December – to remain in office.
Eventually, the confidence vote moved by AAP leader and Education Minister Manish Sisodia was passed 37-32. The 31-strong Bharatiya Janata Party and the sole Akali Dal legislator voted against the government.
With Congress member Mateen Ahmed in the chair, seven of the eight Congress legislators voted for the government along with an independent as well as a Janata Dal-United member.
Later, Kejriwal told the media: “(This) is a victory for the people of Delhi. It is a victory for truth and honesty.”
Expressing his determination to end corruption, he voiced confidence that one day the entire country would see the kind of politics that the AAP had introduced in Delhi.
A former income tax official whose activism led him to form the AAP a year ago, Kejriwal took the oath of office Dec 28.