AAP's Atishi takes oath as Delhi Chief Minister in presence of Arvind Kejriwal (WATCH)

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Saturday. Succeeding Arvind Kejriwal, who resigned from the Chief Minister’s post after securing bail from the Supreme Court in the alleged excise policy case, Atishi became the youngest Chief Minister of the national capital.

Besides Atishi, her council of ministers— Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Imran Hussain and new entrant Mukesh Ahlawat— also took oath in a low-key ceremony at Raj Niwas in New Delhi. Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath of office to Atishi and her council of ministers.

Atishi is the third woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj from the BJP and Sheila Dixit from the Congress.  The President has appointed Atishi as Chief Minister of Delhi, from the date of being sworn in, she also accepted Arvind Kejriwal's resignation. 

The Atishi-led new government will seek to prove the majority of her government in the Delhi Assembly, with a session called by the AAP for September 26-27. The tenure of the Atishi government will be brief as assembly polls in Delhi are due in February next year.

The new government will have to fast-track and give nod to various pending policies and welfare schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0 and doorstep delivery of services, among others.

Last week, while ordering his bail in the former case (after granting relief in the latter in July), the Supreme Court said his "prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty". The bail conditions included Kejriwal being barred from signing government orders or files without the consent of the Lieutenant Governor, with whom the AAP has had several aggressive run-ins.

• AAP
• Atishi
• Arvind Kejriwal