Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal with supporters
, who will become Delhi's seventh and youngest chief minister tomorrow, says he will use the metro to get to Ramlila Maidan for his swearing-in ceremony, along with the other elected members of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). (
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When asked if he is nervous about taking charge of Delhi, he said, "Together, we will change the world. I realize I have a big responsibility." Mr Kejriwal has to prove his majority in the state legislature by January 3. Grappling with a 10 per cent hike in CNG prices, announced yesterday, is his first big challenge. Auto drivers in the city, who form a huge section of his supporters, have threatened a strike. Mr Kejriwal appealed to them today to allow him some time to see if the hike can be reversed. (
No VIPs, everyone is invited to swearing-in: Arvind Kejriwal)
The 45-year-old former tax official has promised to disassemble the constituents of Delhi's VIP culture including the flashing red lights or 'lal battis' that give politicians' cars the screeching right of way on roads. His commitment to a simpler and transparent form of governance was welcomed by the capital which gave him a magisterial second-place in the recent elections.
The Congress, which had been in power for 15 years, was pushed to a lowly third place. The party is supplying external support to Mr Kejriwal's minority government, though Congress leaders have publicly ceded that the decision to prop up the AAP is far from unanimous.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party with 31 seats in the election, short of a majority. The party said that it would not attempt to form the government by trying to split either the AAP or the Congress.
That decision was shaped largely by the AAP's spectacular debut - the fact that a one-year-old party landed 28 seats was seen as the result of a public longing for politicians with principles.