Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal takes oath for the third consecutive term as Delhi’s Chief Minister a little past noon on Sunday at Ramlila Maidan.
Six other AAP leaders took oath as ministers in the newly elected AAP government. Interestingly, these six leaders were in the second term of the AAP government.
A much questionable move in the recently inducted six ministers was the absence of any woman legislator from the cabinet.
For the oath-taking ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also invited but he was not able to attend as he is currently in his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi for the inauguration of various projects.
“I had sent an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji for this event. He could not come maybe he is busy at some other event. But through this platform, I want to take blessings from PM and central government to develop Delhi and take it forward,” he said during his speech.
Countering opposition’s allegations of him using ‘freebies’ for polls benefits, he said, “Some people say Kejriwal is giving everything is free. Nature has ensured every valuable thing in the world is free, be it mother’s love, father’s blessings or Shravan Kumar’s dedication.”
“So, Kejriwal loves his people and hence this love is free,” he said.
On Saturday, Kejriwal hosted dinner for his cabinet-designate colleagues at his home. “Congratulated them on their victory in the election and wished them success for their terms as Ministers in the Delhi govt,” he tweeted.
Hosted my Delhi Cabinet designate colleagues for dinner at my residence. Congratulated them on their victory in the election and wished them success for their terms as Ministers in the Delhi govt. pic.twitter.com/NTAT1yXQUn
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 15, 2020
AAP has said the swearing-in ceremony will be a Delhi-specific affair. No opposition leaders or Chief Ministers from other states have been invited.
The event will see around 50 school teachers, doctors, exam toppers, auto drivers, caretakers and sanitation workers, dubbed “Dilli Ke Nirmata (Makers of Delhi)”, share the stage with Kejriwal and other dignitaries.
A special guest, who will be the attraction of the grand event, will be “Baby Mufflerman”. The photos of one-year-old, seen wearing spectacles and Kejriwal’s signature muffler, went viral earlier this week as the AAP swept the assembly polls.
Huge crowd gathered at Ram Leela Maidan to witness yet another historic event.
Everyone is here to bless “Delhi Ka Beta” Arvind Kejriwal.#MufflermanReturns pic.twitter.com/8gvEp5cCr0
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 16, 2020
In the Delhi Assembly elections results which came out on Tuesday, AAP recorded a massive victory winning 62 of the 70 seats while BJP bagged the remaining eight seats. The Congress drew a blank for the second consecutive time.
The Election Commission told that the voter turnout was 62.59 per cent, which was around 5 per cent less than the last Assembly elections which marked 67.5 per cent.
EC officials also told that the voting per cent was about 2 per cent more than the last Lok Sabha elections.