The new cabinet under Delhi's future Chief Minister Atishi on Thursday has been finalised. Four ministers from the Kejriwal cabinet--Saurabh Bhardwaj, Kailash Gehlot, Gopal Rai, and Imran Hussain -- will continue in their roles and take oath again. One new face, Mukesh Ahlawat, the MLA from Sultanpur Majra, will join the cabinet. Ahlawat, from the Dalit community, will be the new minister. One ministerial position remains vacant.
The entire cabinet, along with CM Atishi, will take oath on Saturday, 21 September.
Earlier in the day, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced that MLA MP Atishi will take oath as the new Chief Minister of Delhi on September 21.
"Atishi will take oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on September 21, and other ministers will also take their oaths alongside her," said the AAP in a statement. Atishi, who has staked her claim to the position, expressed mixed feelings about the change in leadership. She said that she is happy about the trust placed in her by outgoing CM Arvind Kejriwal but is also sad that he has resigned from his post. Speaking to the media, she added that she would work hard to bring Kejriwal back as Chief Minister after the upcoming assembly elections.
"First of all, I would like to thank the popular CM of Delhi, AAP national convener, and my guru - Arvind Kejriwal. He gave me such a huge responsibility and trusted me for it. This can be done only in AAP, only under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, that a first-time politician becomes the CM of a state. I come from an ordinary family. Had I been in any other party, perhaps I would not have been given even an election ticket," Atishi said.
At 43, Atishi will become the third woman Chief Minister of Delhi, following in the footsteps of Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.
A prominent leader of AAP, Atishi has played a key role in improving education in Delhi's government-run schools during her time as an advisor to the former Education Minister, Manish Sisodia.
Atishi currently represents the Kalkaji constituency in the Delhi Assembly and holds the most portfolios in the Delhi government. She joined the Delhi cabinet in March 2023 and is now set to lead AAP as it prepares for the upcoming assembly polls.