Atishi Marlena resigns as Delhi CM after BJP's thumping victory in Assembly elections

Delhi’s outgoing Chief Minister Atishi submitted her resignation to Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday (February 9), a day after the Election Commission of India declared a thumping victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had faced a crushing defeat in the assembly polls, with seat count taking a plunge from 62 in the 2020 elections to 22 now. Top leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia losing their seats.

However, Atishi, who had been serving as the caretaker Chief Minister of Delhi since September 21, managed to retain her Kalkaji seat by defeating BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri by over 3,500 votes. Her margin of victory, however, has taken a hit. In 2020– her debut election– Atishi had won Kalkaji by over 11,000 votes.

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Meanwhile, the BJP returned to power in Delhi after a gap of over 26 years, winning 48 of the 70 assembly seats, in the polls held on February 5.

Who will be Delhi’s next CM?

BJP is expected to stake claim to power next week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from a foreign visit, PTI quoted party leaders as saying.

The suspense over who will become the new chief minister of Delhi is maintained as there has been no formal announcement from BJP’s side. However, there are a couple of likely faces for the post.

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The party may consider Parvesh Sahib Singh for the position. He is the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma and has proven to be a formidable candidate by defeating the AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.

Vijendra Gupta is also considered a top contender to the post. He has managed to retain his seat from Rohini in the past two Assembly elections and has also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly. His selection could appeal to BJP’s voter base among traders and businesspeople in Delhi, The Hindu reported.

Some also consider Manoj Tiwari and Rekha Gupta to be in the race.

With inputs from PTI