Atishi Marlena

Atishi Marlena (; born Atishi Marlena Singh; 8 June 1981), better known mononymously as Atishi, is an Indian politician who served as the 8th Chief Minister of Delhi, the third female in the role, from 2024 to 2025 and also serving as leader of the house in legislative assembly. Since 2025, she has been serving as 8th Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the first woman in the role, following her election as the AAP's house leader.

Early life and education Atishi was born to Delhi University professors Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi on 8 June 1981. Although she comes from a family of Punjabi background, just before the 2019 Indian general election, she dropped 'Marlena' from her surname to “not want to waste time in proving her identity.” She was given the middle name Marlena by her parents. According to her party, the name is a portmanteau of Marx and Lenin. She graduated in Bachelor of Arts in History from the St. Stephen's College at the University of Delhi in 2001.

In 2003, she earned Master of Arts in History from University of Oxford and was on a Chevening scholarship. In 2005, she went to Magdalen College, Oxford and earned Master of Science in Educational Research as a Rhodes scholar.

Political career In January 2013, she became involved in policy formulation for the AAP, which has its roots in that movement. After the 2020 elections, she was made the AAP's in-charge for its Goa unit.

2019 Lok Sabha election Atishi was appointed the Lok Sabha in-charge for East Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. She contested from the East Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate for the 2019 Indian general election. She lost to BJP's 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 (Delhi Assembly constituency) of South Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency). She defeated Dharambir Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, by 11,422 votes.

Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly (2020–present) Since 2020, she has been an elected member of the 7th Delhi Assembly representing Kalkaji Assembly constituency.

Committee assignments of Delhi Legislative Assembly Chairman (2022–23), Public Accounts Committee Member (2022–23), Questions & Reference Committee Member (2022–23), Committee on Women and Child Welfare

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.

Chief Minister of Delhi (2024–2025)

On 17 September 2024, she was named as the Chief Minister of Delhi in a meeting of Aam Admi Party MLAs at the residence of Arvind Kejriwal. Even though Aam Aadmi Party lost the 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, Atishi again won from her constituency Kalkaji, defeating BJP's contender Ramesh Bidhuri by 3521 votes.

Delhi Leader of Opposition (2025–present)

Electoral performance 2025

Controversies On March 15, 2019, Atishi 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. 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.

BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor filed a defamation suite in 2024 against Atishi and Kejriwal over the allegations of poaching.

During her term as the CM, Atishi was set to move into the CM's residence, a bungalow on 6, Flagstaff Road, on 7 October 2024. However, on 9 October, the AAP alleged that the BJP had failed to allot the bungalow to her and that they were trying to "usurp" it, showing documentation that Kejriwal had already vacated the bungalow. The BJP responded by claiming that Kejriwal still had the keys to the bungalow and had failed to transfer them to Atishi.