Delhi gets its third Chief Minister as Arvind Kejriwal hands over charge to Atishi

New Delhi : In an unexpected turn of events, Arvind Kejriwal has resigned from his post and gave charge to Atishi, who will become the third woman Chief Minister of Delhi.

Outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at Raj Niwas on Tuesday evening along with his council of ministers - Atishi, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Imran Hussain – and submitted his resignation.

Atishi, on the other hand, submitted a letter to stake claim to form the government. She will remain CM of Delhi for six months if the scheduled Assembly Elections are held on schedule – Feb 2025.

"Now, Atishi steps up to lead Delhi till the upcoming elections, carrying the weight of both CM Arvind Kejriwal's vision and the national capital's future," said AAP in a statement.

An Assembly Session will be held on September 26 and 27 when Atishi will prove her majority to form the government. However, this will be just a formality, considering AAP's brute majority of 59 legislators in a 70-member House. Three MLAs have resigned from AAP in the past five months.

Meanwhile, Atishi was all praise for Arvind Kejriwal as she mentioned that only a leader like him can take this decision. Any other person would have taken hold of the CM seat soon after stepping out of the jail.

Atishi will be the second youngest to become the CM after Chaudhary Brahm Prakash (1952-55) who was just shy of 34 when he was sworn in as CM. She will also be the third woman chief minister of the capital.