Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi took oath as Delhi Chief Minister today. The oath of office and secrecy was administered to Atishi and her cabinet ministers by Lt Governor (LG) Vinay Kumar Saxena at the Raj Niwas. The newly sworn in ministers had a meeting with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal preceding the swearing-in ceremony. Atishi is only the third woman to serve as Delhi Chief Minister and also the youngest woman to hold the top post.
Her succession to the CM post came after Kejriwal resigned as the Chief Minister following a Supreme Court bail in the liquor policy scam. Atishi, who is the Delhi constituency of Kalkaji, was uni.lonously elected to the top post at the AAP legislature party meeting on September 17. Other than Atishi, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Imran Hussain were sworn in as ministers from the outgoing Kejriwal government.
One post is lying vacant. The latest addition to the Atishi cabinet is Mukesh Ahlawat. First-time MLA from Sultanpur Majra and being the only Dalit face, Mukesh Ahlawat's promotion will strengthen AAP government outreach towards the backward communities. Before the swearing-in, Ahlawat had told IANS that there was some sadness within the party because of Kejriwal resignation but despite the setbacks, he would remain the sole leader of the party.
The swearing-in ceremony remained a low-key affair as the party did not go in for either a show of strength or boast about the new AAP government taking oath ahead of Assembly elections. Atishi was also one of the senior-most ministers in the erstwhile Kejriwal government as she held multiple portfolios and was also seen as 'filling in the gap' in the absence of Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Atishi was holding 13 portfolios in the outgoing Kejriwal government which include finance, revenue, PWD, power, and education among others. Rai was holding environment, development, and general administration departments, while Bharadwaj looked after the health, tourism, and urban development departments among others. Gahlot is in charge of the transport and Hussain of the food and civil supplies.
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