Only people of Delhi will be invited to Kejriwal’s oath-taking ceremony: Gopal Rai

Aam Aadmi party (AAP) leader Gopal Rai on Thursday said that only people of Delhi will be invited to the oath-taking ceremony of the Delhi cabinet and that of Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal.

"No chief minister or political leader from other states will be invited for the ceremony that is going to be specific to Delhi," Rai, the convenor of party's Delhi unit said, reports Hindustan Times.

Kejriwal will take oath with the people of Delhi who have reposed their faith in his leadership, he added.

Kejriwal will take oath as Delhi chief minister at a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan. This will be his third stint as chief minister.

The AAP secured a stunning victory securing 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The BJP increased its seats tally to eight, from three in 2015. The Congress, however, once again drew a blank.

Acknowledging the mandate from Delhi, Kejriwal gave a big "I love you" shout-out to the city and thanked it for reposing its faith in its son. He further added that AAP's victory will give birth to "kaam ki rajneeti (politics of work)".

The party leaders, meanwhile, indicated that the AAP government is set to repeat all its ministers in the Cabinet, adding that the CM, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and the five other ministers will take the oath of office and secrecy on Sunday.

The swearing-in ceremony in 2015, when the AAP won 67 seats, was also held at the Ramlila Maidan on February 14.

The win assumes even greater significance as the AAP was routed in the Lok Sabha polls. The party won only 18% of the votes polled, coming third in five of the seven parliamentary constituencies.

When it first emerged on the political stage, winning 28 seats in the 2013 election, most political veterans of other parties were dismissive of AAP's prospects — they saw it as a one-election wonder.