Arvind Kejriwal with Atishi. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Senior AAP leader Atishi will be the new Chief Minister of Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unanimously agreed on Tuesday (September 17, 2024) after Arvind Kejriwal proposed her name as his successor.
Key AAP member
Ms. Atishi currently holds significant responsibilities within the Delhi Government, serving as a Cabinet Minister overseeing 14 key portfolios including Education, Public Works Department (PWD), Tourism, Culture, and Power.
Also Read : Atishi named new Chief Minister of Delhi
She is the MLA from Kalkaji, Delhi and has been involved with the party since 2013. Ms. Atishi is also a member of AAP’s highest decision-making body, the Political Affairs Committee.
Delhi Union Ministers Gopal Rai, Atishi, Sourabh Bhardwaj, Jasmine Shah, and Priyanka Kakkar showing victory sign after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got interim bail till June 1, at the party’s HQ in New Delhi on May 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Third woman Chief Minister of Delhi
Once sworn in, Ms. Atishi will be the third woman Chief Minister of the Union Territory after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.
Political career in Delhi government
Until April 2018, Ms. Atishi served as Education Minister Manish Sisodia’s Advisor. She played a pivotal role in revamping the state of education in government run schools in the national capital.
AAP leader Atishi (L) during a signature campaign for full statehood at East Vinod Nagar’s Supershine Chowk in East Delhi in July 2018. File.
| Photo Credit:
Sandeep Saxena
She then unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from East Delhi seat in 2019. She later contested the 2020 Delhi Assembly election and became a first-time MLA.
She became a Minister in the Delhi cabinet in 2023 after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain resigned as ministers.
Controversy surrounding ‘Marlena’
In 2018, Ms. Atishi was at the centre of a controversy regarding her name. She dropped her “foreign-sounding” surname, Marlena, while contesting the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat against BJP’s Gautam Gambhir after her surname and religion became contentious issues during the campaign. The name Marlena, a combination of Marx and Lenin, was given to her by her parents, Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi, both professors.
In an attempt to defend Ms. Atishi, Mr. Sisodia posted her caste and religion on X, which led to the Election Commission taking action against him for violating the model code of conduct. She eventually finished third in the 2019 General Elections and BJP’s Gautam Gambhir won the seat.
Education
Ms. Atishi did her schooling from Springdales School in New Delhi and went on to study history at St. Stephen’s College, where she stood first in the Delhi University. She pursued her Master’s on a Chevening scholarship at the Oxford University.
A few years later she earned her second Master’s from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in Educational Research.
Published – September 17, 2024 02:32 pm IST