Senior AAP leader Atishi took the oath as Delhi’s eighth Chief Minister on Saturday, administered by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.
She becomes the third woman to hold this position, following Congress’s Sheila Dikshit and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj.
During the ceremony, which was held at Raj Niwas and attended by AAP leaders including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and ex-deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj was the first to take oath as part of her new Council of Ministers, followed by Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Imran Hussain, and newcomer Mukesh Ahlawat.
Atishi’s tenure is expected to be brief, as assembly elections in Delhi are scheduled for February. BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri urged the new government to fulfill AAP’s promises to the public, including reducing electricity and water bills, waiving property tax in rural areas, and implementing the Central government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi.
The new Cabinet has a number of pending projects and initiatives to launch in the coming months. Atishi will need to act swiftly to revitalize city governance and ensure that key projects, which have been delayed due to Kejriwal’s recent imprisonment, are back on track. The AAP government has faced challenges in managing essential services like roads, water supply, and healthcare due to a reported funding shortfall during Kejriwal’s five-month judicial custody related to an excise policy case.
Additionally, Atishi will be responsible for implementing Kejriwal’s commitment to provide Rs 1,000 honorarium to eligible women under the proposed ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana.
(With inputs from agency)
Share your news, articles, deals, columns, or press releases with us! Click the link to submit and join our platform today.
