NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday named Atishi as the leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly, where the BJP holds a majority with 48 MLAs.
She has become the first woman to hold this position in the assembly.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai announced Atishi’s appointment as the leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly during a press briefing after the AAP legislative meeting.”In the legislative party meeting today, it has been unanimously decided that Atishi will be the leader of the opposition in the Delhi Assembly. In challenging times, Atishi has served the people of Delhi as the CM. AAP will fulfil the responsibility of a healthy opposition,” Gopal Rai stated.
Former Delhi CM and party head Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Atishi on X: “I congratulate Atishi ji for being elected as leader of AAP in the House. AAP will play the role of constructive opposition in the interest of people of Delhi.”
Atishi thanked Kejriwal and the party’s elected MLAs for entrusting her with the responsibility.
Former Delhi CM and prominent AAP leader Atishi secured her Kalkaji seat after a tough contest against former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress leader Alka Lamba.
Last year in September, she was named as the Delhi CM during a meeting of AAP MLAs at Kejriwal’s residence. At 43, Atishi became the youngest Delhi CM in history and was sworn-in on September 21.
Kejriwal chose to resign to test the public’s faith in him and secure a fresh majority mandate for the party. However, AAP failed to continue its winning streak in the capital.
Meanwhile, the BJP took office on Thursday after the oath-taking ceremony at Ramlila Maidan, with Shalimar Bagh MLA Rekha Gupta becoming Delhi’s chief minister. She is the fourth woman to hold this position in the national capital.
The BJP announced its chief ministerial face at the last moment as part of its political strategy, after considering several contenders for the role.
Along with CM Rekha Gupta, six others were appointed as ministers: Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Kapil Mishra, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Kumar Indraj, and Pankaj Kumar Singh.
Returning to power after 27 years, the BJP defeated major AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, Manish Sisodia in Jangpura, and Saurabh Bharadwaj in Greater Kailash.
The AAP dominated the 2020 and 2015 Delhi elections with landslide victories, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively. It reduced the BJP to single digits on both occasions and prevented the Congress from securing any seats, ending the party’s long 15-year reign under Sheila Dikshit.
