New Delhi: Atishi resigned as Delhi chief minister on Sunday, a day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a resounding defeat in the assembly elections. She submitted her resignation to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena at Raj Niwas.
Atishi, 43, had been serving as Delhi’s chief minister since September last year, following the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal. She became the third woman to hold the office after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.
AAP’s electoral setback was significant, with the party securing only 22 seats—a steep decline from its previous tally of 62. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic mandate, returning to power in Delhi for the first time in 27 years, effectively ending AAP’s reign in the national capital.
Despite her party’s poor showing, Atishi retained her Kalkaji seat, defeating BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri by 3,521 votes. Acknowledging her victory, she conceded AAP’s overall defeat and vowed to continue fighting against the BJP’s policies.
The loss was particularly striking for AAP, as several of its top leaders, including former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and ex-deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, lost their seats. BJP’s Parvesh Verma emerged as a giant-killer by defeating Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency by over 4,000 votes.
The Congress, which had hoped for a revival in Delhi, failed to win a single seat.
With Atishi’s resignation, the political landscape in the capital has undergone a seismic shift. The BJP is now poised to form the government, bringing an end to AAP’s decade-long governance in Delhi.
