Arvind Kejriwal Becomes Delhi Chief Minister For Third Consecutive Time, 6 Ministers Also Sworn-In

Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday took oath as the Delhi chief minister for the third successive time. Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Imran Hussain, Rajendra Pal Gautam, Kailash Gahlot and Gopal Rai took oath as council of ministers in the newly-sworn Delhi Cabinet at the Ramlila Maidan. Big banners bearing messages like ‘Dhanyawad Dilli’ along with Arvind Kejriwal’s image were put up in and around the venue. The AAP supremo had on Thursday extended invitation to Delhiites to attend his oath-taking ceremony to “bless their son”. Advertisements were also issued in leading dailies.

Around 50 people from different walks of life who are ‘Delhi ke Nirmata’ and contributed to the development of the city during the last five years shared the stage with Kejriwal during his ceremony as special guests

Soon after taking the oath, Kejriwal while addressing the crowd said, he wants to work in coordination with the Centre and also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessings for smooth governance of the national capital.

Kejriwal said as the elections are over, the politics is also over and he has “forgiven” his opponents for the remarks they made during the poll campaign.

Referring himself as Delhi’s “son”, he said this is not his victory but of every single Delhiite.  "We want to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessing for smooth governance of Delhi,” Kejriwal said in his address at the Ramlila Maidan here after taking oath.

In his earlier tenure, the AAP supremo had several run-ins with the Centre. “Your son has taken oath for the third time as the Delhi chief minister. This is not my victory but yours,” Kejriwal.

Kejriwal said he did not give step-motherly treatment to anyone and has worked for all in the last five years.

On Saturday, Kejriwal called a dinner meeting of his ministers-designate to discuss the roadmap for Delhi's development, especially the initiatives that need to be prioritised in the coming three months, according to party functionaries.

In a near-repeat performance of 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which was floated in November 2012, retained power with a scintillating win in the just-concluded Delhi Assembly polls, trouncing its main rival BJP and completely decimating the Congress in a keenly-watched battle that took place in the midst of anti-CAA protests.

As the AAP bagged 62 out of the 70 seats, leaders cutting across party lines, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi (Congress), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Naveen Patnaik (BJD) and MK Stalin (DMK) had congratulated Kejriwal for the victory.

For bureaucrat-turned-politician who will assume the post of Delhi chief minister for the third time, the Ramlila Maidan holds special significance as it had served as his battleground during the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement.