Atishi, Only Woman In Delhi Cabinet, Set To Be Youngest Current CM In India

Who is Atishi Marlena: Atishi has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of Delhi. Delhi's Legislative Council elected Atishi its leader after current CM Arvind Kejriwal proposed her name for the top post during its meeting on Tuesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Delhi's Kalkaji Assembly constituency, Atishi will be the third woman to hold the top post in the national capital after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit. She will also become the second woman CM in India during current times, after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

Atishi is currently the only woman minister in the Delhi Cabinet and holds the maximum number of portfolios, including Finance, Water, Education, Public Works Department, Power, Revenue, Planning, Services, Law, Justice, Information and Publicity, and Vigilance. She is also a member of AAP's Political Affairs Committee (PAC). While the party's top leaders including supremo Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and MP Sanjay Singh were in jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy graft case, Atishi articulated the party's position. 

About Atishi: Education & Family

Born to Delhi University professors Vijay Kumar Singh and Tripta Wahi, Atishi comes from a Punjabi Rajput family. She did her schooling at Springdale School in New Delhi. She did her graduation in history at Delhi University's St. Stephen’s College and later went on to Oxford University to pursue her Master’s on a Chevening scholarship. She also holds a second Master’s from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in Educational Research.

Atishi's parents gave her the middle name "Marlena", which is a portmanteau of Marx and Lenin, according to her party. However, the AAP leader decided to stop using her surname in daily life and adopt "Atishi" as her name in 2018, just before the national elections.

Before entering into politics, Atishi, along with her husband Praveen Singh, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, founded a commune in 2007.

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Early Activism

Academic qualifications aside, Atishi was an activist before she entered politics. As per AAP's official website, the Minister has spent seven years in a small village in Madhya Pradesh where she got involved in organic farming and progressive education systems. She also worked with several non-profit organisations there. She has also spent some time teaching at Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh.'

Atishi is also a strong advocate for environmental issues and subsidised education for everyone. She has actively promoted policies related to renewable energy, pollution control, and sustainability in Delhi over the years.

Entry In Politics

Atishi joined AAP at the time of its inception. She served as a key member of the Manifesto Drafting Committee of the party for the 2013 Assembly election, she played an important role in shaping the party’s policies in the early stages of formation. She also served as AAP's spokesperson for several years before she was elected as MLA after winning the 2020 elections. She won from the Kalkaji constituency, surpassing the BJP candidate by a margin of over 11 thousand votes.

Atishi was inducted into the Delhi cabinet on March 2023 and took over the portfolios of education, public works department (PWD), power, and tourism after the resignation of former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain amid legal issues.