Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is set to take oath as Delhi chief minister on February 16 at the Ramlila Maidan. This will be Kejriwal’s third stint as chief minister.
The AAP secured a stunning victory securing 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The BJP increased its seats tally to eight, from three in 2015. The Congress, however, once again drew a blank.
Acknowledging the mandate from Delhi, Kejriwal gave a big “I love you” shout-out to the city and thanked it for reposing its faith in its son. He further added that AAP’s victory will give birth to “kaam ki rajneeti (politics of work)”.
NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party said the results of Delhi assembly elections prove that people reward those who work.
The entire seven-member Cabinet will be sworn in together, said senior leader Manish Sisodia, who was Deputy CM in the previous term, a post that sources said he will continue to hold.
The Delhi Cabinet, by law, has space for seven members, including the CM. The party will send the names of the members to the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Lieutenant Governor.
Announcing the date for the swearing-in, Sisodia said: “People have voted for Kejriwal’s model of work, his model of development. The verdict has proved that deshbhakti means good education for your children and welfare of people.”
Like in 2013 and 2015, the swearing-in will be held at Ramlila Maidan and will be open to the public. The difference — it will not be held on February 14 this time. The date has become significant for AAP as it was on February 14, 2014, that the 49-day AAP government had quit and, a year later, taken oath.
Senior party leader Jasmine Shah said the decision has been made to ensure a large crowd. “Most of our party members and volunteers have day jobs and cannot take a day off,” he said.