Atishi takes oath as new Delhi CM; 13 portfolios for Atishi, Bharadwaj in charge of eight depts

AAP leader Atishi took oath on Saturday as Delhi's third woman chief minister and became the youngest of all three to hold the top office in the national capital. She also became the 17th woman to hold the post of chief minister in independent India. The senior AAP leader, however, will have a brief tenure in office as assembly elections in the national capital are due in February. A first-time legislator, Atishi is a key face of the party and managed AAP's operations during Arvind Kejriwal's time in Tihar jail in connection with the excise policy case.

The Kalkaji MLA's name was proposed by Kejriwal, who tendered his resignation as chief minister, for the top post. As Delhi's third woman chief minister, Atishi follows in the footsteps of the BJP's Sushma Swaraj and the Congress' Sheila Dikshit. The 43-year-old is also Delhi's youngest woman chief minister. Dikshit was 60 years old when she took charge while Swaraj was 46. She is only the second woman chief minister in the country at present, alongside West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee.

The new Delhi Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Atishi, who took the oath of office on Saturday, has a long list of pending projects, schemes and new initiatives to be launched in the next few months, ahead of the Assembly polls due early next year.

Atishi will have to hit the ground running to accelerate the city government's functioning and ensure that the flagship projects and schemes are back on track after those slowed down for months due to the imprisonment of her predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal.

Due to the five-month-long judicial custody of Kejriwal in the excise policy case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has been struggling to address issues related to basic services and infrastructure, including roads, water supply and sewer and medicines, owing to a fund crunch, as claimed by party leaders.

Atishi will have to deal with these and much more during her short span of chief ministership, apart from ensuring the implementation of Kejriwal's promise to provide an honorarium of Rs 1,000 to the eligible women in Delhi under the proposed "Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana".

The immediate task before her will be allocating portfolios among the ministers in consultation with the party, holding the crucial National Capital Civil Services Authority meeting for Group-A postings, resuming the doorstep delivery of services scheme, approving the Delhi EV Policy 2.0 and the Solar Policy, among others, officials said.

The new chief minister will also be involved in hectic meetings to speed up the pending work on welfare schemes and infrastructure projects related to roads, water supply, sewerage, pollution, disbursal of subsidies and wage revision of workers in the unorganised sector.

The most daunting task before Atishi, however, will be to establish healthy relations with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in view of the latter's approvals required for a variety of governance as well as development work of the Delhi government, the officials said.

Projects and schemes, such as mohalla clinics and premium buses, inauguration of hospitals, schools and flyovers, and new initiatives could materialise in the coming weeks with the new chief minister taking charge, they added.

After being chosen as Kejriwal's replacement, Atishi had said her two goals in the next few months would include protecting the interests of Delhiites against the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) alleged attempts to stall the schemes of providing free electricity, water, healthcare, education, bus rides for women, pilgrimage for the elderly run by the AAP government.

According to the new chief minister, her next goal would be to ensure a triumphant return of Kejriwal to the top post after the Delhi Assembly polls due in February.

Atishi has said a very big responsibility has been given to her and she would run the government under Kejriwal's "guidance".

New Delhi Chief Minister Atishi will retain all the 13 portfolios, including education, revenue, finance, power and PWD, that she held in the previous government in the national capital headed by Arvind Kejriwal.

A proposal from the chief minister for allocation of work among the ministers of her cabinet has been approved by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, officials said on Saturday.

Atishi's predecessor Kejriwal did not hold any portfolio.

Atishi, the eighth chief minister of Delhi, has retained four ministers from the previous government -- Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot and Imran Hussain. First-time MLA from Sultanpur Majra Mukesh Ahlawat is a new member in her cabinet.

Bharadwaj will retain his previous portfolios and also have the charge of the social welfare and cooperative departments that were earlier held by Raaj Kumar Anand, who resigned in April. His other portfolios include health, urban development, irrigation and tourism.

Bharadwaj will have eight portfolios under his belt, the highest after those held by the chief minister.

Ahlawat has been given the charge of the labour, gurdwara elections, welfare of SCs and STs and land and building departments.

Rai has retained the development, general administration department, environment and forest portfolios that he also held in the Kejriwal government.

Gahlot has also been given his previous portfolios -- transport, home, administrative reforms, women and child development.

Hussain will continue to hold the food and supply and election portfolios.

The following is a list of all women chief ministers in India's history:

* Sucheta Kripalani: Independent India's first woman chief minister, Kripalani headed the Congress government in Uttar Pradesh from 1963 to 1967

* Nandini Satpathy: The second woman chief minister of an Indian state, the Congress leader governed Odisha between 1972 and 1976. Her tenure coincided with the declaration of the Emergency in 1975

* Shashikala Kakodkar: The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader had two stints as chief minister of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu from 1973 to 1979. Goa gained statehood in 1987 while Daman and Diu remained a Union Territory

* Anwara Taimur: The first Muslim woman chief minister of an Indian state, she headed a Congress government in Assam from 1980 to 1981

* VN Janaki Ramachandran: The actor-turned-politician, apart from being Tamil Nadu's first woman chief minister, was also the first film artiste to hold the post in India. She held the post for 23 days in 1988 following the death of her husband MG Ramachandran

* J Jayalalithaa: Another actor-turned-politician, Jayalalithaa served more than 14 years as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, spanning six terms

* Mayawati: The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo served four times as Uttar Pradesh chief minister for a combined seven years

* Rajinder Kaur Bhattal: Punjab's only woman chief minister, the Congress leader's tenure lasted from 1996 to 1997

* Rabri Devi: Taking the reins after her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav was sent to jail in 1997, she is Bihar's only woman chief minister

* Sushma Swaraj: Delhi's first woman chief minister, the BJP leader had a brief tenure of 52 days in 1998

* Sheila Dikshit: The senior Congress leader remains Delhi's longest-serving chief minister, having held office for 15 years between 1998 and 2013

* Uma Bharti: A leader of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, she was Madhya Pradesh chief minister from 2003 to 2004

* Vasundhara Raje: The daughter of Vijayaraje Scindia-Shinde and Jivajirao Scindia-Shinde, the maharaja of Gwalior, she governed Rajasthan as chief minister for 10 years

* Mamata Banerjee: The incumbent West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo is in her third successive term in office since assuming power in 2011

* Anandiben Patel: Gujarat's only woman chief minister, she succeeded Narendra Modi after he was sworn in as prime minister. Her tenure lasted from 2014 to 2016

* Mehbooba Mufti: The People's Democratic Party leader was Jammu and Kashmir's first woman chief minister. She was also the last chief minister of the erstwhile state.