Atishi to take oath as Delhi CM at 4:30 pm today

Atishi will take oath as the Delhi Chief Minister around 4:30 pm on Saturday, September 21. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Mukesh Ahlawat, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Imran Hussain will also be sworn in as ministers.

The swearing-in ceremony of AAP leader Atishi and her council of ministers will be held at Raj Niwas on Saturday afternoon, officials told news agency PTI. It is expected to be a “low-key affair” in view of the circumstances of Kejriwal’s resignation, the report added.

AAP sources said the four ministers retained in the new cabinet were likely to hold their previous portfolios while Ahlawat, a first-time MLA from Sultanpur Majra, could have the departments lying vacant following the resignation of minister Raaj Kumar Anand in April this year.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had proposed September 21 for the swearing-in of Chief Minister-designate Atishi following the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal from the post.

Kejriwal had tendered his resignation as chief minister on September 17, paving the way for Atishi’s appointment as his successor. He had proposed her name as his successor in a meeting of the party’s legislators.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh had earlier informed that AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal will give up security and move out of the chief minister’s residence to live like a “common man”.

“…after tendering his resignation, Kejriwal said he will leave all the facilities that a chief minister gets, including security, and live as a commoner among the people,” Singh said on September 18.

Kejriwal walked out of the Tihar jail on September 13, spending over five months behind bars in connection with the excise policy case. In a surprise announcement two days later, Kejriwal said he would resign in the wake of BJP’s “mudslinging” against him over corruption.

Kejriwal announced that he would return to the post of chief minister after getting a “certificate of honesty” from Delhi people in the assembly polls.

Now, the tenure of the Atishi government will be brief as assembly polls in Delhi are due in February next year. Her government will have to fast-track and give nod to various pending policies and welfare schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0 and doorstep delivery of services, among others.

(With inputs from agencies)