New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister-designate Atishi and her cabinet will take the oath of office on September 21, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Thursday. The ruling party had initially decided that only Atishi would be sworn in; however, it was later determined that her council of ministers would also take the oath.
Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the Delhi chief minister on Tuesday, after which Atishi staked claim to form a new government in the national capital.
Atishi is the third woman chief minister of Delhi, after Congress' Sheila Dikshit and BJP's Sushma Swaraj. Dikshit was Delhi's longest-serving chief minister, who held the office for 15 years from 1998 to 2013, while Swaraj's tenure lasted 52 days in 1998.
Atishi (43) will be Delhi's youngest chief minister and is also set to become the second current woman chief minister in the country after West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee. Dikshit was 60 years old when she became the chief minister of Delhi, while Swaraj held the post at the age of 46.
Atishi currently holds the most number of portfolios in the Delhi Cabinet, serving as the Minister for Finance, Water, Education, Public Works, Power, Revenue, Planning, Services, Law, Vigilance, and other key departments. The AAP leader has played a crucial role in maintaining the party's stability, particularly during the imprisonment of Kejriwal and other senior leaders, when she managed the party's operations along with other leaders.
Kejriwal proposed Atishi as his successor during a meeting of AAP legislators, who unanimously supported it. The AAP supremo met Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday evening and tendered his resignation, making way for Atishi's appointment.