Atishi to be New Chief Minister of Delhi

New Delhi:Delhi minister Atishi will take over as the next chief minister as Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the CM’s post to lieutenant-governor V.K. Saxena, who has forwarded it to President Droupadi Murmu for final approval. She will be Delhi’s youngest and third woman chief minister. She will also become the country’s second woman chief minister after West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee.

Hours after the AAP legislators unanimously approved Mr Kejriwal’s proposal that he be replaced by Ms Atishi, a senior AAP leader said she would be sworn in as CM before the two-day Delhi Assembly session beginning September 26.

At the meeting of AAP MLAs, party leader Dilip Pandey proposed that Mr Kejriwal decide on the chief ministerial candidate. When the AAP national convenor proposed Ms Atishi’s name, all AAP MLAs stood up and accepted it and she was elected leader of the legislature party.

Outgoing chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reached the L-G’s secretariat on Tuesday afternoon along with his party and cabinet colleagues, including Ms Atishi, to tender his resignation.

Addressing the media after the meeting with the L-G, Ms Atishi said: “We have staked claim to forming a new government. I will protect the interests of the people of Delhi.” She alleged that Mr Kejriwal was facing false charges and being targeted by the Centre’s probe agencies.

“The Supreme Court not only granted him bail but also made harsh remarks against the Centre and its probe agencies, calling them a caged parrot,” Ms Atishi said. “Had it been some other leader, they would have kept the chief minister's chair, but Kejriwal decided to go to the people's court. He resigned. This is a sad moment for us,” she added.

Ms Atishi, who currently holds several portfolios in the Delhi government, said only a party like the AAP would have given a “first-time politician” like her such responsibilities. She said: “I will work with one goal for the next few months to bring back Kejriwal as chief minister. I will work as chief minister under Arvind Kejriwal’s guidance and protect the people of Delhi.”

Ms Atishi requested her party MLAs to not congratulate her as it was a “sad occasion”. She added: “Kejriwal trusted me, made me an MLA, then a minister and now chief minister. I am thankful to him. A first-time politician can only get such opportunities in the AAP. Had I been in some other party, I wouldn't have even got a ticket to contest the polls.”

“I am happy, yet I am extremely sad that my elder brother is tendering his resignation today. Do not garland me or congratulate me as it is a sad moment that Kejriwal is resigning as Delhi chief minister,” she said.

Ms Atishi, 43, an MLA from Kalkaji, became a minister after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested in a corruption case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy. When Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia were behind bars, Ms Atishi articulated the party's position at party events and media exchanges.

Speaking to the media after she was elected as leader of the AAP legislature party, Ms Atishi said: “Arvind Kejriwal has trusted me and given me this responsibility. I appeal to all people of Delhi to make your son, your brother Arvind Kejriwal the chief minister again because he is honest.”

The elevation of Ms Atishi comes two days after Mr Kejriwal’s stunning announcement that he would step down from the top post. Mr Kejriwal's surprise move came after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a corruption case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy. The bail order paved the way for his release from prison, six months after his arrest.

Mr Kejriwal has demanded that Delhi Assembly elections be held in November along with the Maharashtra polls. Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia have said they would go to the people to seek their support and not return to the top jobs before the people’s verdict.

As the Delhi Assembly's term ends on February 23 next year and elections are expected to be held sometime early February, a party leader said that Mr Kerjiwal will now focus on galvanising the AAP’s cadre and rebuild trust among the people before the polls.