Atishi Marlena: Delhi's third woman Chief Minister

NEW DELHI: After 11 long years, New Delhi will yet again be ruled by a woman leader after AAP leaders unanimously assigned Atishi Marlena to do the job. The decision came in a meeting of MLAs held under the leadership of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal resigned from the post demanding early Delhi polls to see if he had the people's support to continue in the top office.

The crucial political manoeuvrings from AAP came after Kejriwal was released on bail in the Delhi liquor policy case. After Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit, Atishi is the first woman to become the Chief Minister of Delhi. Apart from Arvind Kejriwal, senior leader Manish Sisodia also supported Atishi's name for the CM spot.

When Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in the Delhi liquor case, it was Atishi who was at the forefront facing the media as the fierce representative of the AAP. In Kejriwal’s absence, Atishi played a vital part in the party’s governance.

Atishi has also served as the Chairperson of the Education Standing Committee of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Strong oratory skills and loyalty towards Kejriwal helped her gain favour among the AAP leaders.

In 2019, Atishi lost to (BJP)’s Gautam Gambhir by a margin of 4.77 lakh votes. However, in the 2020 assembly election, she defeated BJP candidate Dharambir Singh by 11,422 votes from Kalkaji constituency of South Delhi.

Kejriwal claims that he will return to the Chief Minister's post after proving his innocence before the people. As long as he is not found guilty or punished in the case, there is no obstacle for Kejriwal to contest in the Delhi Assembly elections and become the Chief Minister again if the party wins a majority. However, until the investigation and trial procedures are completed, the conditions of the Supreme Court's bail order will apply. The purpose of the Supreme Court's condition is to prevent the misuse of power to influence the case.