The day before he swears in as the chief minister of Delhi, second time in a row, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, stayed at home to recuperate and recover from reported cough, cold and fever. Leading the AAP to a thumping victory in the Delhi assembly elections, winning 67 out of 70 seats, he will take oath on the same day he quit in 2014, after being in power for 49 days.
The day before he swears in as the chief minister of Delhi, second time in a row, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, stayed at home to recuperate and recover from reported cough, cold and fever. Leading the AAP to a thumping victory in the Delhi assembly elections, winning 67 out of 70 seats, he will take oath on the same day he quit in 2014, after being in power for 49 days.
The sprawling historic grounds of Ramlila Maidan, which has seen rallies by the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, protests by Jayaprakash Narayan, has been a favourite of Kejriwal since his days in the India Against Corruption movement, when he held demonstrations alongside activist Anna Hazare. The Maidan has been getting spruced up in a hurry by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Public Works Department, as a footfall of around 1 lakh people is expected. Around 15,000 guards, from the CISF, the SSB, the ITBP and the Delhi Police have been deployed and were briefed on their duties on Friday. The ground has been divided into about 14 sections, each with a giant LED screen, a set of CCTV cameras and a security detail.
The invitations for the event have been strictly according to protocol, with the Lieutenant Governor's office inviting the prime minister Narendra Modi, the union cabinet and the former chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit. Modi has, according to AAP Deputy CM to be Manish Sisodia, already declined the invitation due to prior engagements.
The party has extended a personal invite to Anna Hazare, who also, according to reports, will not attend the event.
"We're all very excited as everything we've been working towards for two years is finally happening," said Atishi Marlena, the party's spokesperson. "We want all the people of Delhi to attend the swearing in ceremony, which is why we decided on Ramlila again, rather than a closed room event."
Meanwhile, the party decided on the final portfolios for its cabinet ministers on Friday night. Only Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain have been retained from the party's previous cabinet, and both are expected to take up their former portfolios; education, union development, land, PWD for Sisodia and health for Jain.
The party has faced criticism for not including any women in its proposed cabinet, which, reportedly will comprise Babarpur MLA Gopal Rai, Matia Mahal MLA Asim Mohammed Khan, Sultanpur Majra MLA Sandeep Kumar and Tri Nagar MLA Jitendra Singh Tomar.
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