The most striking image, in recent times, of Delhi’s new Chief Minister Atishi Singh, was of her being wheeled away in a stretcher after her health took a turn for the worse as she embarked on an indefinite hunger strike. Her demand was to get more water for Delhi from Haryana. Atishi was using this time-tested powerful tool of protest—a hunger strike—that also played a role during the inception of her party, the Aam Aadmi Party. For those who recall the endless television coverage, in an anti-corruption movement in 2011, Anna Hazare had gone on a fast and Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi’s party boss, had made headlines as he sat in protest. The feisty young politician who represents her party in television studios and at press conferences, is now the national capital’s new chief minister.
A prominent face in television debates and press conferences of the AAP, Atishi, a first-time Member of the Legislative Assembly was inducted into the council of minister in March 2023 after the then deputy Chief Minister and Kejriwal’s trusted lieutenant, Manish Sisodia, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the excise policy case. Atishi, along with Saurabh Bharadwaj, joined the Delhi government following the resignation of Sisodia and Satyendar Jain and has since has been entrusted with key portfolios such as finance, education and public works. Her work profile increased to 14 departments as senior leaders of the party were implicated in irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy. Her responsibilities, the highest among all cabinet ministers in the outgoing AAP government, included education, finance, planning, PWD, water, power and public relations, exhibiting the faith Kejriwal has in her.
Atishi’s academic credentials are impressive; an alumnus of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, she’s been a Chevening and Rhodes scholar, where she completed a Masters’ degree in Education at Oxford University. She used her academic background to implement reforms in Delhi’s education system which won her recognition as the architect of Delhi’s education policy. Delhiites say that she’s raised standards of teaching, managed to keep fees in check and is the driving force behind the ‘entrepreneurship mindset curriculum’ and the ‘happiness curriculum’ in Delhi schools. With impeccable educational pedigree, she’s got her attention in the right places with environment-friendly policies such as pollution control, renewable energy and sustainability being key areas of focus for her.
At 43 years, Atishi is the third woman Chief Minister of the national capital of India joining the ranks of Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dixit. Her journey to the top has been rapid and steady since 2013 when she was played a role in drafting AAP’s election manifesto and the government’s early policies. In the initial years, she was advisor to Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister of Delhi where she took a keen interest in educational reforms that are believed to have brought big relief to Delhiites. While she unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and lost to BJP’s Gautam Gambhir, she won the 2020 Assembly elections from Kalkaji.
However, her accession to the top job comes at a crucial time where party bosses have faced jail on corruption charges and elections are only a few months away. The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled for February 2025, leaving Atishi with little time to make a sizable impact from the state’s seat of power. With Kejriwal’s resignation, his entire cabinet has resigned and Atishi may rejig the ministries as the new cabinet takes oath.
She faces a belligerent BJP that will make corruption charges against Kejriwal a top issue in the upcoming elections. The AAP’s flagship scheme of doorstep delivery of services needs to energised with implementation having slacked in recent years. In this year’s state budget, Atishi had announced a financial assistance scheme to women, the Mahila Samman Nidhi Yojana, which promises a monthly amount of Rs 1000 to women above the age of 18 years. The scheme needs implementation especially in an election year.
Then there are schemes that await cabinet approval such as the Industrial and Economic Development Policy, the Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0 and Water Bill Settlement Scheme. The AAP government has promised policies to encourage employment like the Dilli Bazaar Portal and policies for start-ups and food trucks, all of which need approval with time running short.
Boards and commissions are nesting places to balance equations with political heavyweights who cannot be accommodated in the cabinet and Atishi will have to appoint senior politicians to these commissions with vacant posts.
The highest seat in government is a charming place to be in but Atishi’s elevation comes at a crucial juncture in the journey of AAP. Will she be able to bring the party back to power with people-friendly schemes? The answer lies only a few months away.
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