The national capital got its new chief minister as Aam Aadmi Party's firefighter Atishi Marlena Singh took oath as the CM at the Raj Niwas on Saturday. CM designate Atishi was nominated by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as his replacement.
Atishi on Saturday became the 17th female chief minister of the country and only the third of the national capital after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit.
"First of all, I would like to thank Arvind Kejriwal for trusting me and giving me such a big responsibility to serve people of Delhi. I have taken oath as Delhi CM, however, it is a very emotional moment for us as Arvind Kejriwal is no longer CM. He is a person who has changed the image of Delhi in the last 10 years," said Delhi CM Atishi at a press conference after taking the oath.
"People of Delhi will have to do one thing, that is, to make Arvind Kejriwal CM again in the upcoming Assembly elections that will be held in February next year. If people don't make Arvind Kejriwal their CM, then BJP will stop the facility of free electricity through conspiracy", she further added.
The chief minister's new Council of Ministers has retained four faces -- Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Imran Hussain -- while one new face has been introduced and it is that of Sultanpur Majra MLA Mukesh Ahlawat.
Officials from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's office said that President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Atishi as Delhi's chief minister from the date of her swearing-in, while also accepting Arvind Kejriwal's resignation.
The appointment of the five ministers in Atishi's Council was also cleared by the President.
Atishi's name for Chief Minister came days after Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail in the excise-policy linked CBI case. He walked out of prison on September 13 following the Supreme Court's judgment which granted him bail in the case.
Two days later, the AAP chief had announced that he would step down from the CM's post and will return when everyone believes that he is innocent.
According to an AAP leader, the oath-taking ceremony will be a small-scale one as the mood within the party is not that upbeat given Kejriwal's resignation and also the delays in approvals, leaving very little time for preparations.
Notably, the tenure of Atishi's government will be short as the Assembly polls in the national capital are due in February, 2025.
The to-be CM faces critical challenges now as she has to lead cabinet meetings and expedite crucial projects and policies such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0 and doorstep delivery of services among others.
Before being proposed as the CM face, Atishi held 13 portfolios in outgoing Kejriwal government, including that of water, power, finance, revenue, PWD, and education.
AAP sources were cited by news agency PTI as saying that the four retained ministers in Atishi's Council are likely to retain their portfolios as well, while the new face -- Ahlawat -- could be allotted those lying vacant after the resignation of minister Raaj Kumar Anand in April this year.
Atishi's rise from adviser to the Delhi government to a prominent cabinet member in the absence of senior AAP leaders has been described as "phenomenal" and "meteoric".
A key founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Atishi is known for her articulate advocacy and steadfast voice for the party's principles.
Atishi has been lauded for her work for the AAP since her association with the party in 2012. Given her strong track record and close alignment with Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, Atishi's Chief Ministerial promotion is not a surprising one.
