Atishi as Delhi CM: Will She Leave a Mark Like Sushma Swaraj or Sheila Dikshit?

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Saturday.

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.

Before the swearing-in ceremony, all the ministers met AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

Atishi is the third woman to become Chief Minister of Delhi and also the youngest to hold the top post.


Her succession to the CM post followed Kejriwal’s resignation as the Chief Minister after his bail in the liquor policy scam by the Supreme Court.

Atishi, who represents Delhi’s Kalkaji constituency was unanimously chosen as the leader for the top post at the AAP legislature party meeting on September 17.

Apart from Atishi, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Imran Hussain, who were part of the outgoing Kejriwal government, were sworn in as ministers. One post remains vacant.


Mukesh Ahlawat is a new entrant in the Atishi cabinet. Being a first-time MLA from Sultanpur Majra and also the only Dalit face, Mukesh Ahlawat’s elevation will enhance the AAP government’s outreach to the backward communities.

Before the swearing-in, Ahlawat told IANS that there is some sadness within the party because of Kejriwal’s resignation but despite the setbacks, he will remain the sole leader of the party.

The swearing-in ceremony remained a low-key affair as the party didn’t engage in either show of strength or making big boasts 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.


In the outgoing Kejriwal government, Atishi held 13 portfolios including finance, revenue, PWD, power and education among others. Rai held environment, development and general administration departments while Bharadwaj looked after the health, tourism and urban development departments among others. Gahlot was in charge of transport and Hussain of food and civil supplies.

But will she make a mark like her women predecessors Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit or be a simple stopgap?

Sushma Swaraj lasted just over 50 days in her only stint in 1998, while it was a catapult to a larger position in national politics, while Dikshit spent over 15 years in office in three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013. However, Atishi is only likely to helm the state for a few months as the AAP is already into its fourth year of power. The current second consecutive term of the party is slated to run till February, when elections are due though outgoing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had desired that they be held in November.


Even if the AAP comes back to power with a majority for a third term, Kejriwal is likely to reclaim the top post. While announcing his resignation on last Sunday, he had said that he would return to the CM's chair only if the people gave him a "certificate of honesty", indicating he would stake a claim for the post in the case of a fresh mandate for his party.

"I will not sit in that chair till the people announce their verdict. Elections in Delhi are months away. I got justice from the legal court, now I will get justice from the people's court. I will sit in the Chief Minister's chair only after the order of the people," Kejriwal said at a meeting with party workers, days after he walked out of jail following bail in the CBI case.

CM-designate Atishi had on Friday expressed support for him, claiming that only his leadership can enable a "better life and promising future" for Delhiites by ensuring free electricity and water.


She further said that it's important that the people of Delhi again elect Kejriwal as their leader and make him the Chief Minister again, otherwise what is happening in Uttar Pradesh, where she said long power cuts take place regularly, will become a norm in the capital too.

Atishi also told the press that Kejriwal will begin a public outreach programme the next Sunday, during which he will meet people and seek their support.--IANS