Atishi took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Saturday amid growing calls for snap elections. The development comes mere days after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar jail on bail and announced plans to resign. Both Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia have sought a “certificate of honesty” from the people of Delhi before returning to office.
The senior AAP leader was sworn in as the 8th Chief Minister of Delhi by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at Raj Niwas — the first woman to hold the post since Sheila Dikshit. She is also the 17th female chief minister in the country.
The new Council of Ministers also took oath during the ceremony at the Raj Niwas on Saturday afternoon. Atishi will be working with Sultanpur Majra MLA Mukesh Ahlawat as well as existing Delhi Ministers Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Imran Hussain.
However the tenure of the Atishi government will be brief as the assembly polls in Delhi are due in February next year. Both AAP and the opposition BJP have also evinced support for the elections to be preponed by a few months.
The senior AAP leader also met with outgoing CM Arvind Kejriwal at the latter’s residence ahead of the oath ceremony. She was accompanied by the AAP leaders who will be part of her cabinet.
Atishi will have her task cut out as she will be key face of AAP as it prepares for assembly polls with aim to come to power again in the national capital.
The newly appointed Delhi government will have its work cut out for itself — fast-tracking several pending policies and welfare schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana and Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0.
(With inputs from agencies)
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