Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal with party workers in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. PTI

New Delhi, December 25
Decks have been cleared for the installation of a new government in Delhi with Aam Aadmi Party founder-leader Arvind Kejriwal scheduled to take oath as the seventh Chief Minister along with his Council of Ministers at the Ramlila Ground on December 28.

President Pranab Mukherjee granted assent to the formation of government by Kejriwal, who will have to prove majority in the Assembly within seven days (by January 3) from the date of taking oath of office.

In the 70-member Assembly, the 28-member AAP is supported from the outside by eight members of the Congress, a party whose 15-year run was terminated by AAP’s political greenhorns.

The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party with 32 seats, including one of the SAD, opted to sit in the Opposition while lone JD(U) legislator Shoaib Iqbal met Kejriwal today and offered cooperation.

A statement issued by the Delhi Government Secretariat said: “The President has been pleased to appoint Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Legislature Party, as CM of Delhi with effect from the date he is sworn in. The President has also directed that Kejriwal may be asked to prove his majority on the floor of the House within seven days from the date on which he takes oath of office.”

The President also appointed Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, Satyender Kumar Jain, Rakhi Birla, Girish Soni and Saurabh Bhardwaj as ministers with effect from the date of swearing in, the statement issued by the Information Department said. Magsaysay award winner Kejriwal, who defeated incumbent Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by over 25,000 votes, had called on Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday and handed over a letter staking claim to form the government with outside support from the Congress.

Jung subsequently sent the proposal to the President, who approved the same yesterday and directed the Lieutenant Governor to finalise the details. The date for the swearing-in ceremony was finalised at a meeting between Kejriwal and Chief Secretary DM Spolia today. Refuting reports of dissent within the party, Kejriwal said Laxmi Nagar MLA Vinod Kumar Binny had offered to work in any capacity and denied that he had left the meeting last evening in a huff. Kejriwal asserted the Congress support was based on the 18-point agenda set forth by AAP.