Atishi

Atishi Singh,[4] also known as Atishi Marlena, is an Indian politician, educator, political activist and MLA from Kalkaji, Delhi.[5] She is a member of the Political Affairs Committee of Aam Aadmi Party and currently serving as Minister of Education, P.W.D, Culture and Tourism in the Delhi Government. She served as Advisor to the Former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, primarily on education, from July 2015 to 17 April 2018.

Atishi Singh[1]
Cabinet Minister, Government of Delhi
Assumed office
9 March 2023
Lieutenant GovernorVinai Kumar Saxena
Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal
Ministry and Departments
  • Education
  • Women and Child welfare
  • Culture
  • Tourism
  • Public works Department
Preceded byManish Sisodia
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
12 February 2020
Preceded byAvtar Singh
ConstituencyKalkaji
Personal details
Born (1981-06-08) 8 June 1981
Delhi, India
Political partyAam Aadmi Party
SpousePravin Singh[2]
Known forEducation policies,[3]
Political activism

Early life and education

Atishi was born to Delhi University professors Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi on 8 June 1981 in Punjabi Rajput family.[6][7] She was given the middle name 'Marlena' by her parents. According to her party, the name is a portmanteau of Marx and Lenin.[6] In 2018, right before the national elections, she chose to use "Atishi" as her name, dropping her surname from daily use, since she wanted people to focus on her work rather than her lineage.[8][9]

After being raised in Delhi, and finishing high school from Springdales School (Pusa Road), New Delhi,[10] Atishi graduated in history from St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 2001. Soon after, she went to the Oxford University and in 2003 she completed her master's degree in History on a Chevening scholarship.[11] In 2005 she went to Magdalen College, Oxford as a Rhodes scholar.[5][12]

Atishi spent some time teaching at Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh. She has also worked with the non-profit organisation, Sambhavana Institute of Public Policy led by prominent PIL lawyer Prashant Bhushan.[13]

Political career

In January 2013, she became involved in policy formulation for the AAP, which has its roots in that movement.[5]

She was closely involved with the Jal Satyagraha in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh 2015 and provided support to the AAP leader and activist spearheading the campaign Alok Agarwal during the historic protests, as well as during the legal battle that ensued.[14] After the 2020 elections, she was made the AAP's in-charge for its Goa unit.[15]

2019 Lok Sabha Elections

Atishi was appointed the Lok Sabha in-charge for East Delhi for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.[16] She contested from the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency as an AAP party candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. She lost to BJP's candidate Gautam Gambhir by a margin of 4.77 lakh votes, coming in third.

2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election

She contested in the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election from Kalkaji constituency of South Delhi. She defeated Dharambir Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, by 11,422 votes.[17]

As a Cabinet Minister

She was inducted into the Delhi Government as a Cabinet Minister , along with Saurabh Bharadwaj after the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Manish sisodia and Health Minister Satyender Jain .

Member of Legislative Assembly

Since 2020, she is an elected member of the 7th Delhi Assembly representing Kalkaji Assembly constituency.

Committee assignments of Delhi Legislative Assembly[18]
  • Chairman (2022-2023), Public Accounts Committee [19]
  • Member (2022-2023), Questions & Reference Committee [20]
  • Member (2022-2023), Committee on Women and Child Welfare[20]
  • Member (2022-2023), Committee on Ethics[20]
  • Member (2022-2023), Committee on Welfare of Minorities[20]
  • Member (2022-2023), Standing Committee on Education[20]
  • Member (2022-2023), Standing Committee on Health[20]

Governance

Atishi was also spearheading the flagship Mohalla Sabha Project for the Government of NCT of Delhi. The effort to decentralise governance to empower every citizen was a major promise of the AAP before coming to power.[21] The project was rejected by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi in 2016.

Electoral performance
Delhi Assembly elections, 2020: Kalkaji
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AAP Atishi Marlena 55,897 52.28 +0.57
BJP Dharambir 44,504 41.63 +8.47
INC Shivani Chopra 4,965 4.64 -8.07
NOTA None of the above 551 0.52 +0.03
BSP Jay Prakash Sharma 551 0.44 -0.02
Majority 11,393 10.65 -7.90
Turnout 1,06,910 57.51 -7.34
AAP hold Swing +0.57

Controversies

On March 15, 2019, Atishi Marlena and three other party leaders were summoned to court in response to a defamation case filed by the Delhi BJP's vice-president, Rajeev Babbar. The case stemmed from their claim that the BJP had removed 30 lakh names from Delhi's voter list.[22] The court found the allegation prima facie defamatory and invoked Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defamation. The case revolved around allegations of voter list manipulation and its impact on the BJP's reputation.[23]

References
  1. "AAP's Atishi has a surname again – and it's not 'Marlena'". Ndtv.com.
  2. "Election of India - Affidavit" (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. "Atishi Marlena, Delhi's 'education reformer', is AAP Lok Sabha candidate from East Delhi". Financial Times. 28 August 2018.
  4. "Candidate Affidavit" (PDF). 20 January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  5. "The Aam Aadmi of AAP: 5 personal stories of sacrifice, triumph and validation". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. "AAP leader Atishi drops her second name Marlena, denies caste angle". Hindustan Times. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  7. "BJP, Congress, beware! Atishi Marlena is a Rajputani, warns Manish Sisodia". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  8. "Atishi drops her name Marlena". Hindustan Times. 28 August 2018.
  9. Banerjee, Akash. "Six lessons in 'affordable politics': AAP victory shows how elections can be fought on a shoestring". Scroll.In. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. "Meet the young leaders hoping to infuse vitality into our democracy". Hindustan Times. 20 June 2015.
  11. "AAP's Atishi Marlena drops second name after being announced as party's 1st candidate for 2019 Lok Sabha polls". Times Now. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  12. "Rhodes Scholars: complete list, 1903-2015". The Rhodes Trust. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  13. "Meet Atishi Marlena, the education crusader who won for AAP in the Delhi elections".
  14. "Meet the young leaders hoping to infuse vitality into our democracy". 20 June 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  15. "AAP's Raghav Chadha Set To Be Appointed Vice Chairman of Delhi Jal Board, Atishi Gets New Role Too". NDTV.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  16. "Amidst speculation of alliance with Congress, AAP appoints Lok Sabha in-charges for five Delhi seats". dna. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  17. "AAP candidates Manish Sisodia and Atishi won from Patparganj and Kalkaji Assembly constituencies after trailing in early trends". 11 February 2020.
  18. "Committee System in Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi" (PDF). Legislative Assembly National Capital Territory of Delhi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  19. "Delhi Legislative Assembly National Capital Territory Of Delhi Composition Of House Committees 2021-2022". Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  20. "Delhi Assembly Committees". www.delhiassembly.nic.in. Delhi Assembly. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  21. "Giving people's money back to them to spend on their own". Governance Now. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  22. "Bail to Atishi Marlena, two others in suit filed by Delhi BJP". The Times of India. The Times of India. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  23. "Delhi court summons Arvind Kejriwal, others in defamation case by BJP". The New Indian Express. The New Indian Express. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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