Atishi To Succeed Arvind Kejriwal As Delhi's New CM, Third Woman To Hold Post In National Capital

Delhi New CM: Delhi minister Atishi will be elevated to the post of the Chief Minister, the AAP decided at a legislative party meeting on today. She will be the third woman to hold the post in Delhi.

Atishi will be the third woman to hold the post of the Delhi Chief Minister after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit.

Source : x@AamAadmiParty

Delhi's water and education minister Atishi will be the new Chief Minister. Current CM Arvind Kejriwal proposed her name at the AAP's legislative party meeting on Tuesday. Atishi will be the third woman to hold the post of the Delhi Chief Minister after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit.

Atishi will also be the second woman after Mamata Banerjee to sit on the Chief Minister's chair at present.

Atishi's elevation as the Chief Minister of Delhi does not come as a surprise as she was always the forerunner in the race to be Arvind Kejriwal's successor. The 41-year-old became the face of the Aam Aadmi Party in the last few months. She even staged a fast unto death to demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention during the recent Delhi water crisis.

What Happened At The AAP Legislative Party Meeting?

At the legislative party meeting of the AAP on Tuesday, the party's Delhi MLAs wanted Kejriwal to decide the next Chief Minister. Chief whip Dilip Pandey tabled the proposal for Arvind Kejriwal to decide his successor.

After this Kejriwal named Atishi to succeed him and the proposal was unanimously supported by AAP's Delhi MLAs. Arvind Kejriwal will tender his resignation to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at 4:30 PM, paving the way for Atishi to take oath as Delhi's next CM.

Post-Poll Challenge For AAP

However, if AAP wins the next Delhi Assembly elections, due in February 2025, Arvind Kejriwal is expected to be back in the CM's chair. The AAP will then have a mammoth task to prevent disgruntlement among party leaders, including Atishi. A similar situation arose earlier in August when Champai Soren was asked to vacate the CM's post for Hemant Soren after the latter walked out of jail on bail.

The resignation came as a big setback for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha as Champai Soren was known to be a close aide of Hemant Soren. Being a key figure of Jharkhand's statehood demand, Champai 'Tiger' Soren commands a significant influence in the state. 

(This is a developing story and will be updated as details come in.)