The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday said that Atishi Marlena Singh will take oath as the Delhi Chief Minister along with her cabinet on September 21, Saturday.
Initially, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had decided that only Atishi would be sworn in. However, it was later ascertained that her council of ministers would also take the oath.
Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the Chief Minister on Tuesday. Following which Atishi staked claim to form a government in the national capital to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. Kejriwal had announced his plans to step down as the Delhi CM two days after he was released on bail from Tihar Jail. Last week, the Supreme Court had granted him bail in the excise policy-linked CBI case.
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Atishi's Cabinet: 1 New Face, 4 Others To Be Retained
AAP MLA Mukesh Ahlawat will be the new face in the Delhi Cabinet led by Atishi, while four ministers will be retained, the party said on Thursday.
AAP said that Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot and Imran Hussain will continue to be part of the Cabinet.
Notably, Ahlawat -- MLA from the Sultanpur Majra area -- has been inducted to fill in for the vacancy which arose from social welfare minister Raaj Kumar Anand's resignation.
Anand had resigned from the Kejriwal-led government and quit the Aam Aadmi Party in April.
Notably, the Council of Ministers will have seven members including the CM. The tenure of these members will be brief as the Assembly polls for the national capital are due in February, 2025.
Notably, before being proposed to be the CM by Kejriwal, Atishi was serving as the Minister of Educaation, PWD, and Culture and Tourism in the Delhi Government.
Notably, the Oxford University alumnus and a Rhodes scholar was also accepted as the leader of the state legislative assembly.
Following being named the CM-designate, Atishi addressed the media and said, "People of Delhi, AAP MLAs and I -- as the CM for a few months till elections, will work with just one goal. We have to make Arvind Kejriwal the CM of Delhi once again. As long as I am shouldering this huge responsibility, I will have just one goal... I will try to protect the people of Delhi and run the Government under the guidance of Arvind Kejriwal."
Atishi will only be the third women chief minister of the national capital after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit.
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".
As she has been chosen as the Delhi CM months before the national capital's elections, Atishi faces critical challenges now. Her responsibilities include leading cabinet meetings to expedite crucial projects and policies, such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana and the Electric Vehicle 2.0 Policy.
A key founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Atishi is known for her articulate advocacy and steadfast voice for the party's principles.
