New Delhi, Sep 17: Senior AAP leader Atishi was set to be the next chief minister of Delhi after Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the post on Tuesday in a move seen as a bold gambit to seize the initiative ahead of 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 claim to form the government after being elected the leader of the AAP legislature party.
Atishi will be Delhi’s third woman chief minister after Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. 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.
Beset by charges of corruption over the excise scam and released from jail last week, the AAP supremo submitted his resignation to the Lt Governor in the evening, virtually seeking a referendum on his “politics of honesty”.
