Assembly, CM office get spruced up ahead of results

The floors at the Delhi Secretariat are being polished and rooms cleaned, especially on the third floor that houses the chief minister’s office, ahead of the counting of Assembly poll votes on Tuesday, which will clear the picture on the head of the new government.

On Monday, labourers could be seen working overtime to complete the final touch-up at various ministers’ offices in the Secretariat.

The Legislative Assembly building in north Delhi, too, was being spruced up with paint and polish in the chief minister and other ministers’ chambers.

“We are preparing for the Assembly session,” said a gardener as he placed flower pots at the porch of the British-era building dating back to 1912.

The floor of the courtyard of the Delhi Secretariat, also known as the Players Building, where former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal held his janata darbar, was also being cleaned and polished.

A Delhi government security guard posted near a building gate smiled and nodded when asked if the work was being done for welcoming the new chief minister.
Office staff in the chief minister’s office also sounded anxious to know who their new boss would be.

“Within days we will be busy and entire area will be crowded,” an office assistant said.

Officials said Chief Secretary D M Spolia, who is on a one-month extension following his retirement on January 31, has also directed the general administration department to prepare for the oath-taking ceremony of the new government. 

“The venue of the oath-taking ceremony may depend on the preference of the next chief minister-designate,” said an official.

Last time, Kejriwal and his cabinet members had preferred to take oath at Ramlila Maidan on December 2013.

The official notification on constitution of sixth Assembly will be issued after the election office informs Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung about the new legislators at the end of counting on Tuesday.

A senior official said no decision has yet been taken on the new chief minister’s residence either. “The new incumbent might be offered a few options before picking one,” he said.

During his 49-day stint as chief minister, Kejriwal had moved into a government flat in Tilak Lane. Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit used to live in a bungalow on Motilal Nehru Road in Lutyens’ Delhi.

After Dikshit vacated the premises, it was occupied by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.