Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is out on bail in a corruption case linked to the excise policy scam, resigned from his post on Tuesday hours after cabinet minister Atishi was chosen as his successor.
Kejriwal arrived at the LG Secretariat along with his cabinet colleagues in the afternoon and submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena.
Atishi, who also accompanied Kejriwal to the governor’s office, staked claim to form the next government in Delhi. Atishi will be the third woman chief minister of Delhi after Congress's Sheila Dikshit and BJP's Sushma Swaraj. She will head the government until the next Assembly elections due in February 2025.
Kejriwal, who walked out of jail on Friday after the Supreme Court granted him bail, made a dramatic announcement on Sunday when he said he would resign from the chief minister’s post within 48 hours. He also said that he would return to the CM post only if the voters gave him a certificate of honesty.
Atishi, who currently holds multiple portfolios including finance, education and revenue and was amongst those holding the fort while Kejriwal was in jail, was chosen as the next CM at a meeting of the AAP legislative party on Tuesday.
Kejriwal proposed Atishi's name in the meeting held at his residence and was unanimously supported by other MLAs.
Atishi later told the media that it was a moment mixed with joy as well as "extreme sadness" as Kejirwal, the popular CM, is going to resign. She said that for the next few months, she would work to ensure that Kejriwal returns as chief minister after the Delhi Assembly elections.
"It's possible only in the Aam Aadmi Party and under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal that a first-time politician has become a chief minister. I come from an ordinary family and perhaps would not get even a poll ticket if I were in any other party," she said.