The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to form the next government in Delhi, after a gap of 27 years. A day after the Capital verdict, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Chief Minister Atishi tendered her resignation to the Lieutenant-Governor V K Saxena.
Atishi had retained the Kalkaji seat, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Ramesh Bidhuri by a margin of 3,521 votes, however, the BJP registered a thumping victory in the Delhi elections.
The Delhi election results on February 8 showed a major upset for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with senior leaders including Manish Sisodia, Satender Jain and party national convener Arvind Kejriwal suffering defeats. Amid this, a key strategist for the AAP, Atishi’s win stood out as one of the few success stories for the party.
In 2015, Atishi was appointed as advisor to then education minister Manish Sisodia. She was closely involved in the AAP government’s efforts to revamp the education system and tackle infrastructure challenges. She was also a party spokesperson and a member of its Political Affairs Committee.
Atishi steered the AAP through its biggest crisis last year when almost all top party leaders, including then chief minister Kejriwal, were behind bars in corruption cases.
Meanwhile, with the BJP’s landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, all attention has now turned to who will assume the role of the next Chief Minister. As there are several prominent figures within the BJP who could be considered for the top post, it may become difficult for the party to choose the right person for the job.
The BJP holding discussions over the top picks for the CM post, a key party huddle is likely shortly with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party President J P Nadda in attendance. The BJP won 48 seats out of 70 in the elections held on February 5, reducing the incumbent AAP to just 22 seats from the 62 it had in the previous Assembly.
As the BJP prepares to form the government, the chosen leader will face the immediate challenge of fulfilling the party’s electoral promises, including improvements in education, healthcare and infrastructure, while ensuring inclusive development across all sections of society.
