AAP leader Atishi will take charge as the Chief Minister of Delhi today. She was sworn in as the eighth and only the third woman minister, after Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj from Delhi on Saturday. Five Cabinet ministers – four from the previous ministry and a new face – were also sworn in with him.
His name was proposed as the next Chief Minister after Arvind Kejriwal announced his resignation following the Supreme Court’s interim bail order in the tax policy case.
Atishi retained the 13 portfolios he held in the Kejriwal government, including education, revenue, finance, power and PWD. However, his Cabinet got a new person as Mukesh Ahlawat was sworn in as a cabinet minister. He held the portfolios of labour, SC and ST, employment and land and construction, while Gopal Rai retained the posts he held in the Kejriwal government.
In his first speech after being sworn in as the chief minister, Atishi praised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and urged the people of Delhi to return him as the chief minister of Delhi again.
“Today, I am sworn in as the Chief Minister, but it is an emotional time for us when Arvind Kejriwal is not the CM. Arvind Kejriwal changed the lives of the people of Delhi. We all have to do just one job now- to make Arvind Kejriwal the chief minister of Delhi again,” said Atishi in his first speech after being sworn in.
A video also surfaced, showing the MLA from Kalkaji touching Arvind Kejriwal’s feet after taking oath.
At 43, Atishi is the youngest ever to be sworn in as the chief minister of Delhi. She is also the second woman chief minister of the country at present, along with West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee. The tenure of his government will be short as Delhi Assembly elections are expected to be held in February 2025.