Kejriwal submitted his resignation to the LG on September 17. On the same day, Atishi sought time to form the government.
President Draupadi Murmu has appointed Atishi Marlena Singh as the CM of Delhi from September 21. The appointment of 5 ministers has also been approved. The President also accepted Arvind Kejriwal's resignation.
According to official sources, Atishi will be sworn in as Chief Minister on Saturday, September 21, at 4:30 pm at the Raj Bhavan (Lieutenant Governor's residence). Delhi LG Vinay Kumar Saxena will administer oath to him.
Along with Atishi, 5 AAP MLAs – Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain and Mukesh Ahlawat will be sworn in as ministers. AAP national coordinator Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy Manish Sisodia will also attend the swearing-in ceremony.
Atishi will be the youngest and third woman CM of Delhi
Atishi will be the 9th and youngest Chief Minister of Delhi, besides Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit, the third woman Chief Minister. The record of becoming the youngest CM of Delhi was held by Kejriwal. He was 45 years old when he first became Chief Minister in 2013. Atishi is currently 43 years old.
Atishi has been MLA three times from Kalkaji seat. The AAP MLA had finalized Arvind Kejriwal's name as the new CM on September 17 following his resignation. Mukesh Ahlawat will be the only new face in Atishi's cabinet.
The remaining 4 leaders were also ministers in Kejriwal's cabinet. Ahlawat replaces AAP MLA Rajkumar Anand in the cabinet. Anand joined the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections. He was the Social Welfare Minister in the Kejriwal Cabinet.
CM Atishi and why only these 6 faces in the cabinet?
1. Atishi: Trusted by Kejriwal and Sisodia While Kejriwal and Sisodia were in jail, they maintained a strong stance of the party. Kejriwal also recommended Atishi's name to hoist the tricolor on Independence Day. She was a key member of the committee that drafted AAP's manifesto for the 2013 assembly elections. Since then she has been instrumental in the expansion of the party.
2. Saurabh Bharadwaj: Strongly represents the party MLA and Minister since 2013. He is a trusted leader of Kejriwal. During the imprisonment of Sanjay Singh, Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Atishi have been continuously attacking the BJP. When Manish Sisodia went to jail after Atishi, Saurabh was given important ministries.
3. Gopal Rai: A good grip in the working class community AAP has been part of the government since it first came to power in 2013. He is a senior party leader. He is considered Kejriwal's confidant. It has a good hold in the working class community of Delhi. Has emerged as a crisis for the party on several occasions. He is the Environment Minister in the current Delhi Government. He has a long experience of holding ministerial posts.
4. Kailash Gehlot: From a Jat family, important for political funding Has good relations with LG Vivek Saxena. The LG on August 15 chose Gehlot to fly the flag in place of Atishi. Belongs to Jat family. Jats in Haryana are angry with BJP. The party does not want to drop him from the cabinet in Haryana elections. He has been holding the Ministry of Transport continuously since 2017. Political funding is also important for AAP.
5. Imran Hussain: The only Muslim face, about 11.7% Muslim population in Delhi As he was the only Muslim face in Kejriwal's cabinet, the party wants to retain him in Atishi's cabinet as well. Delhi has about 11.7% Muslim population. The party wants to retain its grip on the minority vote bank in the 2025 assembly elections.
6. Mukesh Ahlawat comes from Dalit community, Delhi has 12% Dalit population. Coming from a Dalit community, Mukesh Ahlawat will replace Rajkumar Anand. Dalits constitute 12% of Delhi's population. Rajkumar Anand has damaged AAP's Dalit vote bank by joining BSP. The party wants to cultivate the Dalit vote bank by making Ahlawat, a first-time MLA, a minister.
Kejriwal's resignation on 15th, Atishi's name announced on 17th Arvind Kejriwal announced his resignation on September 15, two days after being granted bail in the Delhi Liquor Policy case. On September 17, Narendra Modi's 74th birthday, a meeting of the legislative party was called at 11:30 am, in which it was decided that Atishi would become the new chief minister. The new CM was announced at 12 o'clock. At around 5 pm, Kejriwal met the LG and submitted his resignation.
AAP got national party status in April 2023 The Election Commission officially granted Aam Aadmi Party the status of a national party on 10 April 2023. For any party to get the status of a national party, it needs to secure 6% votes in four states in the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections. The party secured more than 6% vote share in Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat.
Apart from Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party has a government in Punjab. Party organization is also strong in Haryana and Gujarat. The party has three MPs in the Lok Sabha and 10 in the Rajya Sabha. AAP cadres are also active in other states of the country.
Assembly elections may be held in Delhi before February The current term of the Delhi Assembly ends on 23 February 2025. The Election Commission completes the election process before the date of expiry of the five-year term of the current House. Section 15(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 says that notice of election cannot be given less than 6 months before the end of the term of the Assembly.
This means that the Election Commission will have to conduct assembly elections in Delhi within 5 months. However, while announcing his resignation, Kejriwal said that he would demand early elections in Delhi. If the Lt. Governor and the Election Commission are ready, elections can be held in Delhi even before the term of the Legislative Assembly ends.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
