"When We Joined Politics, People Said...": Manish Sisodia On AAP's Rise

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will work overtime to ensure that all the promises they have made in their election manifesto are fulfilled. His colleague Arvind Kejriwal today took oath as Chief Minister for a third time at Ramlila Maidan.

"When we entered politics, people used to tell us that politics in this country is about caste and religion, how are you going to survive. But now that we are forming government for a third time, it means our rivals spoke ill about the public. This is the same public who chose Arvind Kejriwal for chief minister for a third time," Mr Sisodia told NDTV this morning.

"Mr Kejriwal has given 10 guarantees on power, security, water issues... Many parties make manifestos, then later they say it was all jumla (false). But we will ensure the promises are fulfilled because the people have guaranteed us five years," Mr Sisodia said.

The old team of the AAP, including Mr Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain and Rajendra Gautam have been appointed ministers in the Delhi government, an official notification from President Ram Nath Kovind's office said. They took oath along with Mr Kejriwal today around noon.

Mr Kejriwal's AAP had scooped up 62 of the Delhi's 70 seats, leaving just eight for the opposition BJP, in a near-identical result to the 2015 polls.

Mr Kejriwal had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seven BJP parliamentarians who represent the city and all eight newly-elected BJP MLAs to his swearing-in ceremony. The Prime Minister, however, is in Varanasi to inaugurate various projects.

Mr Kejriwal's party has billed the swearing-in as a "Delhi-specific" affair, not inviting any top opposition leaders or Chief Ministers from other states. With front-page advertisements in newspapers, the AAP chief has urged invited residents of the city to the ceremony.