New Delhi: AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal is set to vacate his government residence as his next accommodation remains undecided. There is no official government residence allocated for the Chief Minister or former Chief Ministers in Delhi and Kejriwal will be looking for alternative accommodations.
Mohan Singh Bisht, a five-time MLA, highlighted that previous Chief Ministers have lived in various government bungalows across different locations. The issue of official residence allocation has never been a major focus. In 1993, when the Delhi Legislative Assembly was formed, government bungalow number 33 at Shamnath Marg, near the Assembly, was allocated to then-Chief Minister Madanlal Khurana.
After that, the next Chief Minister, Sahib Singh Verma, chose to live in a different bungalow where he had previously resided as a minister.
Following Sahib Singh Verma, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj became Delhi’s Chief Minister for a few days before the 1998 assembly elections. She opted to reside in her government bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi instead of the two bungalows in Civil Lines.
Swaraj's tenure lasted only 53 days, after which the BJP lost the elections, leading to Sheila Dikshit becoming Chief Minister. Dikshit lived at AB-17 on Mathura Road during her first term. Atishi now occupies this house, which was previously allotted to former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
When Sheila Dikshit began her second term in 2003, she moved to a government bungalow on Motilal Nehru Marg, where she lived for 10 years. Kejriwal, after taking office in 2013, chose a government flat on Tilak Lane near the Supreme Court. However, his government only lasted 49 days, and he soon resigned.
In 2015, Kejriwal chose government residence number 6 on Flag Staff Road in Civil Lines, where he lived for five years. Upon his re-election in 2020, he continued residing there, though new construction took place on the site of the old residence, which remains under investigation. Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goyal said that the Delhi Assembly is situated in North Delhi, and for the convenience of ministers, government residences have been constructed nearby.
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