Atishi named as Delhi’s next CM after Kejriwal steps down

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday resigned as Delhi’s chief minister and handed the baton over to Atishi, who staked claim to form the next government, marking the latest churn in the Capital’s political upheaval with just months to go for assembly elections.
Atishi, a sitting minister in Delhi whose steep rise in the party coincided with its most turbulent phase as senior leaders were jailed on corruption charges, met lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Tuesday evening, accompanied by Kejriwal and other ministers.
“The people of Delhi, the MLAs of the AAP, and I, being the chief minister (designate), will now work with only one objective till the elections in the next few months take place that we have to make Arvind Kejriwal the chief minister of Delhi again,” Atishi said.
“Delhi has only one chief minister — and his name is Arvind Kejriwal.”
Atishi’s elevation caps a dramatic sequence of events that began on Sunday when Kejriwal announced that he will resign as chief minister within two days and go to the people to seek a fresh mandate. His shock declaration came two days after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in connection with the excise policy case.
Rules say the LG will now send the resignation to the President and a recommendation on the proposal of the CM-designate to form the new government. After the President’s consent, the LG will invite the CM-designate to take oath.
Atishi will become the third woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit, and only the second sitting woman chief minister in India alongside Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal.
But her nomination also marks a meteoric rise for the 43-year-old who was in academia just 11 years ago and who won her first election in 2020, triumphing in Kalkaji assembly seat by 11,000 votes.
“We have submitted the letter staking claim to form the government to the LG. We hope that soon the process will be completed,” she said, alleging that Kejriwal was facing being targeted by federal probe agencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged Atishi was a proxy CM. “Atishi said that Delhi has only one CM, Arvind Kejriwal. Does it mean that she will only get the designation and not the responsibilities of a CM? Does it mean Arvind Kejriwal will enjoy the power without any responsibilities?… I request the people of Delhi to elect BJP’s government in the upcoming elections…” said BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj.
Sitting ministers in the Kejriwal cabinet — Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain — are likely to get a place in the new cabinet, said AAP members. The new cabinet will also likely add two new members, including one from the Dalit communities, said people aware of the developments.
The developments underline the churn in Delhi’s politics, just months ahead of its scheduled assembly polls in February 2025. The AAP, which is battling mounting allegations of financial irregularities and crumbling civic infrastructure in the Capital, has been buoyed in recent weeks by the release of senior leaders such as Kejriwal and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
“The Supreme Court not only granted him bail but also made harsh remarks against the Centre and its probe agencies calling them a caged parrot,” she said. “Had it been some other leader, they would have kept the chief minister’s chair but Kejriwal decided to go to the people’s court. He resigned,” she added.
Earlier in the day, the AAP legislature party meeting authorised Kejriwal to pick the new chief minister and he proposed the Kalkaji lawmaker’s name. Kejriwal’s proposal was accepted by all 60 legislators present.
The CM-designate reiterated that she will work with the objective to make Kejriwal the CM again. “Before the elections, I have two tasks – to run a campaign with the people of Delhi to make Kejriwal CM of Delhi again; and ensure that BJP does not hatch a conspiracy to stop free electricity, free treatment, treatment in mohalla clinics and does not shut down good schools,” said Atishi.
Kejriwal will continue as the caretaker CM till the new government takes oath, said an official of Delhi government. After that, Kejriwal would have to leave the official residence at Flagstaff Road, where he moved in 2015 and which was the centre of a political storm over expansive renovations. People in the AAP said Kejriwal is ready to vacate the bungalow.
“Today, Arvind Kejriwal has resigned. It is a moment of sadness for the Aam Aadmi Party, our legislative party and the people of Delhi, but the people of Delhi have vowed to make Kejriwal the CM of Delhi in the upcoming elections. Because they know that without an honest CM like Arvind Kejriwal people of Delhi will not get free electricity, schools will not be good, mohalla clinics will shut down, women will not get free bus rides. The AAP MLAs and the two crore people of Delhi have started the mission to make Kejriwal CM again in the upcoming election. Till elections are held, CM has trusted me and given me this responsibility,” said Atishi.
The AAP urged the LG to swear Atishi in as soon as possible and said she submitted the support letter with signatures of 60 MLAs to the LG.
This is not the first time Kejriwal has quit the post. In 2014, he resigned after just 49 days in office in a coalition government with the Congress, only for his party to sweep Delhi in the 2015 assembly polls, winning 67 seats. The party will be hoping that Kejriwal’s extensive grassroots campaign can repeat that success and blunt criticism over civic infrastructure, governance deficits and anti-incumbency.
Atishi – a first-time lawmaker who held 13 portfolios, including education, public works department, power, revenue, planning, finance, services, vigilance, water, and public relations – was inducted in the government after Sisodia’s arrest in 2023.
She emerged as the face of the government when Kejriwal was arrested. In August, Kejriwal wrote to Saxena recommending that Atishi be allowed to hoist the Tricolour at Delhi’s Independence Day celebrations in his absence. The recommendation underlined Atishi’s significance in the Cabinet even as Saxena nominated her colleague Kailash Gahlot to unfurl the flag.
An AAP leader said Atishi will expand the cabinet after taking oath as CM. “Delhi cabinet will have seven ministers including the chief minister. The names of the cabinet ministers will be decided soon,” said the leader.
Kejriwal will likely hold a string of rallies and launch door-to-door outreach campaigns while asking people to vote him back in power if they believe in his honesty, said AAP officials.
In a post on X, Kejriwal extended his wishes to Atishi. “Best wishes to Atishi ji…” he said.