NEW DELHI, (REUTERS) – Arvind Kejriwal picked Delhi minister Atishi to replace him as chief minister of the capital territory on September 17, allowing him to focus on winning a fresh mandate in elections due next year after getting bail in a graft case.

Atishi, 43, who uses only one name, is a founding member of the decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that rose to national prominence after emerging out of an anti-corruption movement led by Kejriwal, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She has been a leading face of AAP and the Delhi government after Kejriwal, 56, was arrested and detained in prison in March in a corruption case he calls “politically motivated”.

“While this responsibility lies with me, I will protect the people of Delhi and run the government under Arvind Kejriwal’s guidance,” Atishi told reporters.

Kejriwal was granted bail on September 16 by India’s Supreme Court, almost six months after being detained in connection with alleged corruption in the capital city’s liquor sales policy. Kejriwal and AAP deny the allegations.

After his release, Kejriwal said he would resign as chief minister to focus on campaigning for elections for Delhi’s assembly, due to be held by mid-February.

Kejriwal said he would return as chief minister only if people certify his honesty by voting for him and his party, indicating what analysts said is a strategy to seek votes on the ground that he has been wrongly targeted.

Atishi, who has been picked as the successor of Arvind Kejriwal after he announced his resignation as Delhi chief minister, has affirmed that she will work for the next few months with the goal of returning Kejriwal to the post after the upcoming elections.
Expressing gratitude to Kejriwal, Atishi said, “First, I would like to thank the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving me such a big responsibility and showed trust in me. This can happen only in Aam Aadmi party that a first time politician becomes chief minister of a state”
“As much as I am happy for being given such a big responsibility, I am also sad that the Delhi chief minister is resigning. The BJP has left no stones unturned, creating hindrances for the AAP. Made all central agencies run behind him,” Atishi said.

Urging the people to re-elect Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming elections in the national capital, Atishi said, “The people of Delhi, Aam Aadmi party MLAs and I, who will remain the Delhi CM till the next elections will work with one resolution that we need to make Arvind Kejriwal the chief minister of Delhi again. On behalf of all AAP MLAs and the 2-crore people of Delhi, I want to say that that there is just one CM of Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal.”–