“Will work with one goal: bring back Kejriwal as chief minister,” says Atishi

Senior AAP leader Atishi is set to be the next chief minister of Delhi after Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the post on Tuesday, 17 September, in a move seen as a bold gambit to seize the initiative ahead of the assembly elections due in five months.

"I will work with one goal for the next few months… to bring back Kejriwal as the chief minister,” said the 43-year-old, who along with Kejriwal and other party leaders met Lt Governor V.K. Saxena and staked her claim to form the government after being elected the leader of the AAP legislature party.

It was confirmation, if any were needed, that Kejriwal’s grip on the party remains firm and this move is aimed at giving him space to set the agenda.

Atishi will be Delhi’s third woman chief minister after the Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and the BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. Dikshit was Delhi's longest-serving chief minister of Delhi, holding office for 15 years from 1998 to 2013. Swaraj ruled Delhi for 52 days from 12 October 1998.

Beset by charges of corruption over the excise scam and released from jail on 13 September, the AAP supremo submitted his resignation to the lt-governor in the evening on 17 September, virtually seeking a referendum on his “politics of honesty”.

Though Atishi was a frontrunner for the post and considered close to both Kejriwal and his second in command Manish Sisodia, the speculation over who would succeed him was intense. Ending the debate, Kejriwal proposed the name of the Kalkaji legislator at a meeting of the AAP legislature party and it was accepted unanimously.

Up next, the LG will forward Kejriwal's resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu for her acceptance. He will also send Atishi's letter to form a new government for the president’s nod, an official said.

Once the resignation is accepted, the LG will invite Atishi to form the government and give a date for the oath-taking ceremony, the official said, adding that the process may take a few days.

The new chief minister will have to prove the majority of her government in the Delhi assembly. A session has been called by the ruling AAP dispensation on 26–27 September.

As a minister in Kejriwal's cabinet, Atishi, with 14 portfolios including finance, education and revenue, was amongst those holding the fort while he was in jail.

"We have staked claim to form a new government. I will protect the interests of Delhi people," she told reporters after Kejriwal’s meeting with the LG.

She alleged that Kejriwal, who she sees as her mentor, was facing false charges and being targeted by the central government's probe agencies.

"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 added.

"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," Atishi said.

The people have vowed to choose Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister again in the soon-to-be-held Delhi assembly polls, she added.

While Kejriwal maintained a studied silence through the day, Atishi went on to request her party MLAs to not congratulate her.

Thanking her "guru" Kejriwal for showing confidence in her and giving her the "big responsibility", she said, "Kejriwal trusted me, made me an MLA, then a minister and now chief minister.

"I am thankful to him," Atishi added. "A first-time politician can only get such opportunities in AAP. Had I been in some other party, I wouldn't even have got a ticket to contest polls."

"I am happy, yet I am extremely sad that my elder brother is tendering his resignation today," she said.

In a surprise decision two days after he was released on bail from Tihar Jail, Kejriwal on Sunday announced he would resign as chief minister and only return if people give him a "certificate of honesty" in the Delhi assembly polls.

Ever the politician with an eye on what could make the maximum impact, he also sought early polls in the city.

The assembly's term ends on 23 February next year and elections are expected to be held sometime in early February.

The Delhi BJP was confident that the political gambit would fail.

You can change the face but not the party's character, Delhi BJP president Virender Sachdeva said, adding that the people of Delhi know that Kejriwal has "looted" Delhi.

"They have indulged in corruption in every department and now the people will give them an answer for that corruption," Sachdeva said.

On Monday, 16 September, the saffron party described his move as "drama" and a "confession of crime" and wondered if he had offered to quit because of infighting in AAP.

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said that Atishi should rise to the occasion to solve the problems of the people, particularly women.

The AAP government cannot run away from the promises they made; Atishi has become the CM for just three months, and she cannot sideline the problems of the people, Yadav said.

Atishi, given credit for many of the AAP government's achievements in the education sector, was inducted into the Delhi cabinet in March last year and has been playing a crucial role both in the government as well as the party when AAP convener Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in connection with the excise policy case.

The daughter of Delhi University professors Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi, Atishi did her schooling from Springdales School and went on to graduate from St Stephen’s College. She did her Masters from Oxford University.