Atishi to Become Delhi’s New Chief Minister, Kejriwal Proposes Successor at AAP Meeting

Delhi's new Chief Minister will be Atishi, currently serving as the Water and Education Minister. Her name was proposed by the incumbent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) legislative party meeting on Tuesday. Atishi will be the third woman to hold the position of Delhi Chief Minister, following Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit. She will also be the second female Chief Minister currently in office, after Mamata Banerjee. Atishi’s appointment was anticipated, as she was a leading candidate to succeed Kejriwal. The 41-year-old has recently become a prominent face of the AAP, notably staging a hunger strike to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention during the recent Delhi water crisis. During Tuesday's AAP legislative party meeting, Delhi MLAs expressed their preference for Kejriwal to choose his successor. Chief Whip Dilip Pandey presented the proposal for Kejriwal to name his successor, which led to Kejriwal nominating Atishi. The proposal received unanimous support from AAP's Delhi MLAs. Kejriwal will submit his resignation to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at 4:30 PM, clearing the path for Atishi to take the oath as Delhi's next Chief Minister. Looking ahead, if AAP wins the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for February 2025, Kejriwal may return to the Chief Minister’s position. This scenario will present a challenge for AAP to manage internal discontent among party leaders, including Atishi. A similar situation occurred earlier in August when Champai Soren was asked to step down in favor of Hemant Soren, leading to significant political implications for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, where Champai Soren was a prominent figure and a key supporter of Jharkhand's statehood movement.