Atishi, the Delhi Chief Minister, resigned on Sunday after her party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), faced a significant defeat in the recent assembly elections. She submitted her resignation to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at the Raj Niwas.
Atishi, 43, had been serving as Delhi’s Chief Minister since September of the previous year, taking over the position after Arvind Kejriwal stepped down. She became only the third woman to hold the post, following Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.
AAP’s performance in the assembly elections marked a major setback, with the party securing just 22 seats, a dramatic fall from its previous tally of 62. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious, winning a historic mandate in the Delhi polls and reclaiming power after 27 years, ousting AAP.
Despite the party’s overall loss, Atishi retained her seat in Kalkaji, securing a hard-fought victory over BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri by a margin of 3,521 votes. In her statement acknowledging her individual victory, Atishi admitted to AAP’s defeat in the Delhi elections and pledged to continue her fight against the BJP.
Atishi’s victory in Kalkaji stood out as a significant achievement for AAP, especially as several senior leaders, including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, lost their constituencies. BJP’s Parvesh Verma made headlines for his surprising victory, defeating Kejriwal in the New Delhi seat by a margin of over 4,000 votes.
Meanwhile, the Congress party, which had hoped to make a comeback in the national capital, once again failed to secure any seats in the assembly.
