What Atishi must do to fulfil AAP and Delhi’s mandate?

Atishi, who has been elected Delhi’s eighth chief minister and only the third woman to occupy the top post there, faces several challenges during her tenure, which would end before February 2025, when the term of the current AAP government ends.

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The AAP legislative had elected Atishi, serving as a senior minister in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet, its leader on Tuesday, to replace the incumbent CM. This made her the third woman CM of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj (BJP) and Sheila Dikshit (Congress).

Why Atishi?

Atishi’s appointment as the CM marks a new milestone for both her and the AAP, which has largely been seen as a one-man show; this perception had changed a bit after AAP stormed to power in Punjab in 2022, when Bhagwant Mann emerged as a leading light in the party.

Atishi enjoys the reputation of being a staunch Kejriwal supporter. She was chosen for the top job on the basis of several factors, including her loyalty, commitment, and dedication to Kejriwal — and possibly her gender, too.

While Kejriwal's primary goal in resigning was to distance himself from corruption and money laundering allegations, and to counter the perception that he was clinging to power despite the charges, Atishi's elevation also signals an effort to reshape other political perceptions.

For example, following the unsavoury incident involving AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal and Kejriwal's close aide Bibhav Kumar, AAP is in dire need of an image makeover. Selecting a woman as CM would send out the right signals about AAP’s gender-sensitivity.

Through Atishi, the party is also attempting to send a message that AAP values capability and performance over someone’s political antecedents, while boosting the morale of its cadre.

Clearly, Atishi faces several big challenges ahead, the biggest of which is to ensure that AAP reinvents its image and wins the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections against a determined opponent, the BJP.

According to senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, Atishi has two key tasks: “Make Kejriwal CM again and ensure schemes such as free electricity, medicines, and education continue.”

“It is Atishi’s responsibility to protect the people of Delhi from the terror of the BJP,” he added.

Women in power

This is not the first time Delhi will have a woman CM. Therefore, Atishi, who might be seen as a “temporary arrangement”, filling in for Kejriwal for a few months, may not be perceived as a novelty.

The BJP and AAP’s other political rivals are already targeting her, calling her a “puppet” CM and attacking her for alleged ties between her parents and Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, an accused in the 2001 Parliament attack case, and who was later acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Maliwal also claimed that Atishi's parents had written mercy petitions seeking the cancellation of the death sentence awarded to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. “This is an extremely unfortunate day for Delhi. A woman like Atishi is going to become the CM of Delhi. Her own family fought a long battle to save terrorist Afzal Guru from the death penalty,” Maliwal said.

What works in Atishi’s favour is her loyalty to the party and to Kejriwal. Her rise began after Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, after which she took on several responsibilities, becoming a key face of AAP, along with her colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj.

During Kejriwal’s time in jail, when many of his Rajya Sabha MPs were conspicuous by their absence from the Delhi political scene, Atishi managed several portfolios, including education, finance, planning, the Public Works Department (PWD), power, water, and public relations.

She also gained attention for campaign against the Haryana Government over allocation of water for Delhi.

A Rhodes Scholar and alumna of prestigious institutions like St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and Oxford University, Atishi’s public life and political career have, so far, revolved around issues affecting Delhi. However, faced with strong opposition and hostile colleagues like Maliwal, only time will tell if AAP’s gamble will pay off.

At 43, Atishi is also among the youngest women chief ministers in the country. Before her, there was Nandini Satpathy in Odisha, Shashikala Kakodhkar in Goa, and BSP supremo Mayawati, who became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh at 39.

Sheila Dikshit — longest serving woman CM

Sheila Dikshit holds the record for being the longest-serving woman chief minister in the country, having led Delhi for over 15 years. The AIADMK supremo, the late J Jayalalithaa, has had the second-longest tenure so far, holding office in Tamil Nadu for over 14 years over several terms until 2016.

Sushma Swaraj served as Delhi's CM for just around 52 days.

Since 1947, India has had 16 women CMs. The first woman to occupy the top post in a state was Sucheta Kripalani in Uttar Pradesh. Atishi will be the 17th.