Apart from the ministries he held in the Kejriwal govt, Bharadwaj has been given charge of two more, social welfare and cooperatives, which were held by Raaj Kumar Anand, who quit the govt and party earlier this year.
17th woman to hold CM’s post in independent India
Mukesh Kumar Ahlawat, the new face in the council of ministers, has been assigned the remaining five departments that Anand held, including labour, employment, and SC&ST welfare.
Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, and Imran Hussain will retain the portfolios they held in the last govt. While Rai’s three departments included environment and development, Gahlot will have the charge of five, including home, transport and women and child development, while Hussain will have two – food and supply, and election.
Atishi was sworn in as the eighth chief minister of Delhi on Saturday at an event at Raj Niwas, replacing her mentor and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who resigned from the post earlier this week. At 43, she’s the second youngest CM of Delhi after Chaudhary Brahm Prakash (34) in 1952-55 and the youngest among the three women CMs — Sheila Dikshit and Sushma Swaraj being the other two — that the city has seen to date.
Along with Atishi, five ministers also took oath, including four – Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Imran Hussain – from the previous dispensation, and Mukesh Kumar Ahlawat, a new entrant to the Cabinet. She and others were administered the oath of office and secrecy by LG VK Saxena.
Atishi has also become the 17th woman to hold the post of a chief minister in independent India. A first-time legislator, Atishi will have a brief stint of just five months as CM in this term.
Before swearing in as CM, Atishi, along with her cabinet ministers, called on outgoing CM Kejriwal at his residence and held a brief discussion. Soon after taking oath, Atishi took blessings from Kejriwal by touching his feet. Former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, leader of opposition Vijender Gupta and police commissioner Sanjay Arora also attended the ceremony, as did her parents, Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi, who were professors at Delhi University.
Addressing a press conference soon after taking oath, Atishi said it was an “emotional day” for her as her “guru” and Delhi’s son Kejriwal will not continue to be CM. She urged people to ensure Kejriwal returned to the top post again after the assembly polls in the capital in Feb 2025.
LG Saxena extended his best wishes to Atishi and her council of ministers in a post on X after the event. “May they work for the betterment of Delhi and its people,” he wrote. The new govt is likely to prove its majority in the 70-member assembly in a special session on Sept 26-27. Atishi has been elevated to the top post at a crucial time for AAP, which is looking to retain office in Delhi for the third consecutive term, in polls scheduled early next year.
With assembly polls around the corner, the new AAP govt is likely to have a challenging stint. Apart from playing a balancing act with the LG and bureaucrats, the new CM will also be expected to fast-track pending policies and schemes of public welfare, including the rollout of the Mahila Samman Nidhi Yojana, and relaunching the flagship doorstep delivery of services scheme.