Arvind Kejriwal will take oath as Delhi’s seventh Chief Minister on Saturday, after the spectacular debut of his Aam Aadmi Party in the Assembly elections.
The President on Wednesday appointed Mr. Kejriwal as Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi with effect from the date he is sworn in.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung directed Mr. Kejriwal to prove the majority of his government on the floor of the House by January 3.
The swearing-in will take place on the Ramlila Maidan, from where Mr. Kejriwal launched a crusade, along with his mentor Anna Hazare, for a Jan Lokpal. Later, he made corruption a main plank of his election campaign.
Mr. Kejriwal on Wednesday invited Mr. Hazare for the swearing-in, along with Kiran Bedi and Santosh Hegde, who worked with the AAP convener for an anti-corruption ombudsman as part of the former Team Anna. Mr. Hazare and Mr. Kejriwal parted ways last year when Mr. Kejriwal formed the political party.
Youngest Cabinet ever
The Cabinet Ministers who will take oath along with Mr. Kejriwal are Manish Sisodia, Rakhi Birla, Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Girish Soni and Satendra Jain. Mr. Kejriwal will perhaps have the youngest Cabinet ever in the country. Rakhi Birla, at 26, is the youngest of all Ministers.
Mr. Kejriwal, 45, an IIT-Kharagpur graduate and Magsaysay winner, defeated the three-time Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, in the New Delhi constituency by over 25,000 votes.
‘Going ahead with agenda’
Reacting to reports of differences within the Congress over its support to his party, Mr. Kejriwal said the AAP was not in an alliance with either the Congress or the BJP.
“We are concentrating on issues, not support. We are going ahead with 28 MLAs and an 18-point agenda, and whoever backs it [the agenda] supports us,” he said.
He assured the people on Wednesday that the AAP would begin supply of 700 litres of water free every day to every household “within 24 hours of taking over.”
Among the other priorities would be immediate audit of the balance sheets of power distribution companies, accused of overcharging consumers.
Jan Lokpal
Reiterating his party’s commitment to a strong Jan Lokpal in Delhi, he said a Bill would be brought in within 15 days of government formation.