President Murmu officially appoints Atishi as Delhi CM; accepts Kejriwal’s resignation

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi as the Chief Minister of National Capital Territory Delhi, effective from the date she is sworn in.

The President also accepted AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation as the CM, but stated he will continue to hold office till Atishi is sworn-in.

Atishi along with other ministers, will take the oath today at Raj Niwas.

“The President is pleased to accept the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, National Capital Territory of Delhi, along with his Council of Ministers, with immediate effect. He will, however, continue to act as the Chief Minister, National Capital Territory of Delhi, till the new Chief Minister is sworn in,” the official statement read.

“The President is pleased to appoint Atishi as the Chief Minister, National Capital
Territory of Delhi with effect from the date she is sworn in,” it added.

The President further cleared the appointment of five ministers, including Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gahlot.

“The President has been pleased to appoint, on the advice of the Chief Minister, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Imran Hussain, and Mukesh Ahlawat, to be the Minister in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with effect from the date (s) they are sworn in,” the statement further added.

Earlier on Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced that Atishi will take oath as the new Chief Minister of Delhi on September 21.

“Atishi will take oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on September 21, and other ministers will also take their oaths alongside her,” said the AAP in a statement.

Atishi, who has staked her claim to the position, expressed mixed feelings about the change in leadership. She said that she is happy about the trust placed in her by outgoing CM Arvind Kejriwal but is also sad that he has resigned from his post. Speaking to the media, she added that she would work hard to bring Kejriwal back as Chief Minister after the upcoming assembly elections.

“First of all, I would like to thank the popular CM of Delhi, AAP national convener, and my guru – Arvind Kejriwal. He gave me such a huge responsibility and trusted me for it. This can be done only in AAP, only under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, that a first-time politician becomes the CM of a state. I come from an ordinary family. Had I been in any other party, perhaps I would not have been given even an election ticket,” Atishi said.

At 43, Atishi will become the third woman Chief Minister of Delhi, following in the footsteps of Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit. A prominent leader of AAP, Atishi has played a key role in improving education in Delhi’s government-run schools during her time as an advisor to the former Education Minister, Manish Sisodia.

Atishi currently represents the Kalkaji constituency in the Delhi Assembly and holds the most portfolios in the Delhi government. She joined the Delhi cabinet in March 2023 and is now set to lead AAP as it prepares for the upcoming assembly polls. (ANI)