Atishi took oath as chief minister in September last year.
A day after the BJP's thumping win in the Delhi Assembly election, incumbent Chief Minister Atishi met Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena today and handed over her resignation. Mr Saxena also dissolved the Seventh Legislative Assembly of the national capital.
The BJP scored 48 seats in the 70-member Assembly, 40 more than its 2020 tally of 8. The AAP, which won 62 seats in 2020, was reduced to 22 this time. The Congress drew a blank.
The election saw AAP's top guns, including its national convener Arvind Kejriwal and senior leaders Manish Sisodia and Saurabh Bharadwaj, lose. Ms Atishi managed to retain her Kalkaji seat.
The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years. Congratulating party workers and thanking Delhi voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the BJP would fulfill its promises and put Delhi on the path of development.
A grand swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held next week after the Prime Minister returns from his trip to the US. Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states will be invited for the oath ceremony, sources have said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda met today to discuss government formation in the national capital. Prime Minister Modi too spoke to Mr Shah and Mr Nadda last night after the results came in.
Atishi served as Delhi's Chief Minister for nearly five months. She had taken over in September last year after Mr Kejriwal quit the top post after he was granted bail in a corruption case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy. He had then said he would return to the top post after the verdict in the "people's court".
After the AAP's poor show and his defeat in the New Delhi seat, Mr Kejriwal said he accepts the people's mandate. "The results of the Delhi elections have been declared today and we accept the people's verdict. The people's decision is paramount. I congratulate the BJP on its victory and I hope that it lives up to the hopes and expectations of the people who have given them a majority," he said.
While the BJP leadership is yet to announce its choice for the Chief Minister's post, newly elected New Delhi MLA Parvesh Verma is being seen as the frontrunner after he emerged as a giant slayer by defeating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal.
A former two-time MP from West Delhi, Mr Verma was denied a parliamentary election ticket last year. He then jumped into the Assembly poll arena, took on Mr Kejriwal in a seat he had won thrice in a row and defeated him by 4,000 votes. Mr Verma is the son of former Delhi Chief Minister, late Sahib Singh Verma.
