New Delhi: Atishi Marlena was on Saturday sworn in as the 8th chief minister of Delhi.
The Oxford-educated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) succeeded Arvind Kejriwal, who resigned earlier this week days after being released on bail in the Delhi liquor policy case.
Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena administered the oath of office to Atishi and five Cabinet ministers — Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Imran Hussain and Mukesh Ahlawat, a new entrant – at a low-key ceremony at Raj Niwas.
Atishi, emerged as an important member of AAP as well as the previous government when after Kejriwal was arrested by Enforcement Directorate exactly six months ago in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case.
Atishi held 13 portfolios — including Finance, Revenue, PWD, Power and Education — in the outgoing Kejriwal government.
The 43-year-old Atishi, an MLA from Kalkaji, thus became the 17th woman to hold the post of chief minister in India since Independence, and Delhi’s third female CM, after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit.
Among these leaders, Dixit of Congress served as CM for the longest time – 15 years and 25 days — over three terms in Delhi.
On the other hand, V N Janaki Ramachandran (AIADMK) held the post for just 23 days in Tamil Nadu.
Currently, the only other incumbent female CM is Mamata Banerjee, in West Bengal.
LIST OF WOMEN CHIEF MINISTERS IN INDIA
1. Sucheta Kripalani (Congress) – Uttar Pradesh
2. Nandini Satpathy (Congress) – Orissa (now Odisha)
3. Shashikala Kakodkar (Maharashtra Gomantak Party) – Goa
4. Anwara Taimur (Congress) – Assam
5. Janaki Ramachandran (AIADMK) – Tamil Nadu
6. J. Jayalalithaa (AIADMK) – Tamil Nadu
7. Mayawati (Bahujan Samaj Party) — Uttar Pradesh
8. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Congress) – Punjab
9. Rabri Devi (Rashtriya Janata Dal) – Bihar
10. Sushma Swaraj (Bharatiya Janata Party) – Delhi
11. Sheila Dixit (Congress) – Delhi
12. Uma Bharti — (Bharatiya Janata Party) – Madhya Pradesh
13. Vasundhara Raje (Bharatiya Janata Party) – Rajasthan
14. Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) – West Bengal
15. Anandiben Patel (Bharatiya Janata Party) – Gujarat
16. Mehbooba Mufti (People’s Democratic Party) – Jammu & Kashmiri
17. Atishi Marlena (Aam Aadmi Party) – Delhi.
