Atishi becomes Delhi’s youngest CM: Third woman CM after Sheila Dixit, Sushma Swaraj; 5 ministers took oath, Mukesh Ahlawat is the new face

Atishi took oath as the 17th Chief Minister of Delhi on Saturday. She was sworn in by LG Vinay Saxena at Raj Niwas. Atishi became the youngest and third woman Chief Minister of Delhi. Before her, Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit have been CMs.

After Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain and Mukesh Ahlawat took oath as ministers. Mukesh Ahlawat is the only new face in the cabinet.

43-year-old Atishi is a three-time MLA from Kalkaji seat. Atishi has also broken Kejriwal’s record of being the youngest CM of Delhi. Atishi is 43 years old, while Kejriwal was 45 years old when he became CM for the first time in 2013. AAP MLAs had finalized Atishi’s name as CM after Kejriwal’s resignation on 17 September.

Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann attended Atishi’s swearing-in ceremony.

Why are only these 6 faces in the cabinet including CM Atishi?

1. Atishi: A confidante of Kejriwal and Sisodia, she has been strongly supporting the party while Kejriwal and Sisodia were in jail. Kejriwal had also recommended Atishi’s name for hoisting the tricolour on Independence Day. She was a key member of the committee that prepared the AAP manifesto for the 2013 assembly elections. Since then, she has been playing an important role in expanding the party.

2. Saurabh Bhardwaj: He strongly advocates for the party and has been an MLA and minister since 2013. He is Kejriwal’s trusted leader. Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh have been continuously attacking the BJP along with Atishi when they were in jail. When Manish Sisodia went to jail, important ministries were handed over to Saurabh after Atishi.

3. Gopal Rai: Has a good hold among the working class community. Has been a part of the AAP government since it came to power for the first time in 2013. Is a senior leader of the party. Considered to be Kejriwal’s confidant. Has a good hold among the working class community of Delhi. Has emerged as a troubleshooter for the party on many occasions. Is the Environment Minister in the current Delhi government. Has a long experience of holding ministerial posts.

4. Kailash Gehlot: Comes from a Jat family, is important for political funding. Has good relations with LG Vivek Saxena. LG had chosen Gehlot to hoist the flag on 15th August instead of Atishi. Comes from a Jat family. Jats in Haryana are angry with BJP. The party does not want to drop him from the cabinet in the Haryana elections. He has been handling the Transport Ministry continuously since 2017. He is also important for AAP for political funding.

5. Imran Hussain: The only Muslim face, Delhi has about 11.7% Muslim population He was the only Muslim face in Kejriwal’s cabinet, so the party wants to retain him in Atishi’s cabinet as well. Delhi has about 11.7% Muslim population. The party wants to maintain its hold on the minority vote bank in the assembly elections to be held in 2025.

6. Mukesh Ahlawat: Comes from the Dalit community, Delhi has 12% Dalit population Mukesh Ahlawat, who comes from the Dalit community, will replace Rajkumar Anand. Delhi has 12% Dalit population. Rajkumar Anand’s joining BSP has caused a dent in AAP’s Dalit vote bank. By making first-time MLA Ahlawat a minister, the party wants to woo the Dalit vote bank.

Kejriwal resigned on 15th, Atishi’s name was announced on 17th Arvind Kejriwal announced his resignation on 15th September, two days after getting bail in the Delhi liquor policy case. Before Kejriwal’s resignation on 17th September, i.e. on Prime Minister Modi’s 74th birthday, Atishi was elected as the new Chief Minister in the legislative party meeting. After this, at around 5 pm, Kejriwal submitted his resignation to LG and Atishi staked claim to form the government.

AAP was formed in 2012, got the status of national party in 2023 After the Anna movement, Arvind Kejriwal formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on 2 October 2012. The Election Commission gave it the status of a national party on 10 April 2023. To get the status of a national party, it is necessary for a party to get 6% votes in four states in the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections. The party has already secured more than 6% vote share in Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat.

Apart from Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party is in power in Punjab. The party’s organisation is also strong in Haryana and Gujarat. The party has three MPs in Lok Sabha and 10 MPs in Rajya Sabha. AAP cadres are active in other states of the country as well.

Atishi will be CM for less than 5 months The current term of the Delhi Assembly ends on 23 February 2025. The Election Commission completes the election process before the date of expiry of the five-year term of the current House. Section 15 (2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states that the notification for election cannot be made less than 6 months before the expiry of the term of the Assembly.

This means that the Election Commission will have to conduct assembly elections in Delhi within 5 months. However, Kejriwal had said at the time of announcing his resignation that he would demand early elections in Delhi. If the Lieutenant Governor and the Election Commission agree, elections can be held in Delhi even before the term of the Assembly ends. According to this, Atishi will remain CM for less than 5 months.