'Will Wait for Kejriwal to Come Back': Atishi Takes Charge as Delhi Chief Minister

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi Singh officially assumed the post of Delhi Chief Minister, replacing Arvind Kejriwal, on Monday. After Kejriwal stepped down from the top post, Atishi was sworn in as the eighth CM of Delhi. With Atishi swearing-in, Delhi got its third woman Chief minister after Congress ' Sheila Dikshit and BJP's Sushma Swaraj. Five cabinet ministers -- four from the previous ministry and a new face -- were also sworn in along with her.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Atishi hailed the erstwhile Kejriwal-led govt for "setting an example of dignity and morality."

Atishi said , "I have taken charge as the Delhi Chief Minister. Today my pain is the same as that was of Bharat when Lord Ram went to exile for 14 years and Bharat had to take charge. Like Bharat kept the sandals of Lord Ram for 14 years and assumed charge, similarly, for the next four months, I will run the Delhi government like that... Arvind Kejriwal has set an example of dignity and morality."

She also accused the BJP to attempting to tarnish the image of former CM Kejriwal. "For the last two years, the BJP has left no stone unturned to malign the image of Arvind Kejriwal . False cases were put on him, he was arrested and put in jail for six months...Arvind Kejriwal has said that he will not sit on the CM's chair until the public of Delhi shows trust in his honesty. So, he tendered his resignation," she added.

Hoping that Delhiites would re-elect Kejriwal in assembly elections, she reaffirmed that the Delhi CM's chair belonged to the AAP supremo. "The chair of the Delhi Chief Minister belongs to Arvind Kejriwal . I am hopeful that the public of Delhi will elect him again as the Delhi Chief Minister. Till that, the chair will remain in this office and wait for Arvind Kejriwal," she further said. 

Notably, Kejriwal himself proposed her name for the next Chief Minister after he announced his resignation which left several political leaders off guard. 

Atishi has retained 13 key portfolios that she held in the erstwhile Kejriwal government, including education, revenue, finance, power and PWD. However, the new AAP cabinet witnessed the entry of a new face, Mukesh Ahlawat, who took oath as a cabinet minister. He was given the charge of the labour, SC and ST, employment and land and building departments, while Gopal Rai retained the portfolios that he held in the Kejriwal government.

Atishi is Youngest CM of Delhi

She also holds the distinction of being the youngest CM of the Delhi at 43. She's also only the second woman chief minister in the country at present, alongside West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee . The tenure of her government will only be four months long as the the national capital is bracing for assembly elections in February 2025.