According to sources, Atishi, the head of the AAP, will be sworn in as Delhi’s chief minister and her council of ministers on Saturday afternoon at Raj Niwas.
According to representatives of the lieutenant governor’s office, President Droupadi Murmu accepted Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation and named Atishi as Delhi’s chief minister effective from the day of her inauguration.
The five ministers’ appointments were also approved by the President, and it was announced that the oath-taking ceremony would be held at Raj Niwas at 4.30 pm.
An AAP leader predicts that the event would be low-key because there isn’t much enthusiasm in the party due to Kejriwal’s resignation and the permissions process taking longer than expected, which leaves little time for planning.
Files pertaining to Atishi’s government formation and Kejriwal’s resignation as chief minister of Delhi were submitted to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday, according to officials. President Droupadi Murmu was asked to approve both documents.
Atishi was unanimously chosen by the AAP MLAs to lead the ruling legislative party during their meeting earlier this week.
Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Imran Hussain, and newcomer Mukesh Ahlawat—a first-time MLA from Sultanpur Majra—will be part of the AAP’s declared new council of ministers. Within the departing Kejriwal cabinet, Rai, Gahlot, Bharadwaj, and Hussain had ministerial positions.
On September 13, AAP national convener Kejriwal left the Tihar jail after serving more than five months in jail due to an excise policy matter. Two days later, Kejriwal abruptly announced his resignation, citing the BJP’s “mudslinging” of him about corruption.
Following his announcement that he would seek a “certificate of honesty” from Delhi voters in the assembly polls, Kejriwal had said that he would resume his role as chief minister.
The assembly elections in Delhi are scheduled for February of the following year, hence the Atishi government’s duration would be short.
Her government would have to approve and expedite a number of long-pending laws and welfare programs, including the Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0, the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, and service delivery to customers’ doorsteps.
Gahlot was in charge of the ministries of the home, transportation, and women’s and children’s development, while Hussain was the minister of supplies and food.
The four ministers who were retained in the new cabinet are anticipated to carry on with their previous portfolios, while Ahlawat might be assigned the departments that were vacant following the resignation of minister Raaj Kumar Anand in April of this year, according to AAP insiders.