AAP's Atishi succeeds Arvind Kejriwal as new Delhi chief minister

Atishi, a confidant of Kejriwal, emerged as the fiercest critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party when Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were in jail.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday proposed the name of Atishi as the new chief minister of Delhi.

Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi during AAP workers' meeting, in New Delhi.(PTI file photo)

The development came two days after Arvind Kejriwal announced that he would resign as the chief minister of Delhi within 48 hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the Delhi liquor scam. He said he would seek re-election and would not sit on the chair before getting a “certificate of honesty” from the people of Delhi.

Arvind Kejriwal has also urged the Election Commission to hold the Delhi assembly polls in November.

"Today, the Delhi AAP legislative party meeting was called. In the meeting, Atishi was unanimously given the responsibilities of the CM until the next Delhi election. We had to give this responsibility under adverse situations. How the BJP government at the Centre, the entire BJP, and the PM of the country conspired and misused agencies to finish AAP. The manner in which governments in the country were toppled, similarly, attempts were made to topple Delhi government. Thwarting all such attempts, AAP continued its unity and work. They attempted to have Arvind Kejriwal resign from the jail so that they could topple the government. But in the interest of the people of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal decided to not resign from the jail and run the government from there...After coming out, he decided to go to the people's court and until the people elect him as the CM once again, he won't continue as the CM," said AAP leader Gopal Rai.

Atishi is a key face of the party as well as the government and holds multiple portfolios, including finance, education and PWD.

Atishi, a confidant of Kejriwal, emerged as the fiercest critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party when Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were in jail. She also defended the AAP government during the Delhi water crisis.

Several prominent AAP leaders, including Saurabh Bhardwaj, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gehlot, were rumoured to be the frontrunners in the chief ministerial race.

Earlier today, Bharadwaj said no matter who sat in the chair of Delhi CM, it would always belong to Arvind Kejriwal because the people of the national capital voted for him.

Atishi's coronation comes just days after the Supreme Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case. The court directed Kejriwal to not enter the chief minister's office. The BJP alleged that Arvind Kejriwal resigned because of the Supreme Court's conditions.

Arvind Kejriwal has been the chief minister of Delhi since 2013.

Who is Atishi?

Atishi represents the Kalkaji constituency in the Delhi Assembly (MLA). She rose to prominence as an advisor to the Delhi government's education department and later became an MLA after winning the 2020 elections.

She is credited with bringing about education reforms in Delhi.

Atishi completed her undergraduate studies at Delhi University's St. Stephen's College before using a Chevening scholarship to attend the University of Oxford for her master's programme in education.

She became a Cabinet minister in the Delhi government in March 2023, after Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain were incarcerated in corruption cases.