Atishi takes oath as Delhi Chief Minister, succeeds Arvind Kejriwal; Delhi gets third woman CM

Atishi Marlena on September 21 took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi, replacing Arvind Kejriwal. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader is the third woman CM of the national capital after late Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.  

At 43, Atishi is also set to become the youngest CM in Delhi's history, surpassing Kejriwal, who was 45 when he first took office. 

In the Kejriwal-led cabinet, Atishi was in charge of multiple critical portfolios, including Finance, Water, Education, and others. Throughout Kejriwal’s leadership, Atishi has proven crucial in managing party operations, especially during challenging times, demonstrating her capability to lead.

Atishi served as an advisor to Delhi's Deputy CM and Education Minister, Manish Sisodia, from 2015 to 2018. She has also been a member of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the Aam Aadmi Party. In 2019, Atishi contested the Lok Sabha elections but was defeated by Gautam Gambhir.

The new Council of Ministers announced by AAP comprises Sultanpur Majra MLA Mukesh Ahlawat, a new entrant, besides ministers Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Imran Hussain.

Mukesh Ahlawat, a first-time MLA from the Sultanpur Majra constituency, is making his debut in the Delhi cabinet. The 48-year-old Dalit leader will fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand. 

The AAP Legislature Party finalised Atishi's appointment following Kejriwal's resignation on September 17. The tenure of the Atishi-led government will till the assembly polls in February next year.

Announcing his decision to resign, Kejriwal said hat he would return to the post only after getting a "certificate of honesty" from Delhi people in the assembly elections. The AAP supremo also demanded assembly elections, due in February, be conducted in November along with Maharashtra and Jharkhand. 

"I am going to resign from the CM position after two days. I will not sit on the CM chair until the people give their verdict...," the former CM said in his first speech after coming out of jail. 

The AAP supremo also announced that Manish Sisodia, who is also an accused in the liquor police case and recently walked out of jail on bail, will only come back in the government after a fresh mandate.