A day after the resignation of the Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain following corruption charges against them, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has picked MLAs Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi as the two new faces of the Delhi cabinet, The Indian Express reported, quoting sources.
Their names will be sent to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who will forward them to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent.
The exit of the two ministers from the Delhi Cabinet, which has a mandate of seven members, including the Chief Minister, necessitated that the position were filled.
Both Bharadwaj and Atishi are prominent faces of the party. While three-time MLA from Greater Kailash, Bharadwaj was the transport minister during the AAP government stint in 2013-14, Atishi has worked closely with Sisodia in the education sector.
Atishi is expected to likely handle key departments such as Education, Labour, and Tourism, especially in the run-up to the G20 summit, while Bharadwaj, who is the national spokesperson of the party, is likely to be assigned Public Works Department (PWD), and power and home departments, sources said, as reported by IE.
Meanwhile, Kailash Gahlot, who is being assigned finance and planning on Tuesday, is likely to continue holding the portfolios. Gahlot had attended Budget preparation meetings with the former deputy CM all of last week.
On Sunday, Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with corruption allegations in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 case. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which refused to entertain petition pertaining to his arrest by the CBI, suggesting that Sisodia must move the Delhi High Court
The Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court had on Monday sent him to CBI custody for 5 days.
Meanwhile, Jain is lodged in the Tihar jail since May last year in connection with a money laundering case which was registered by the Enforcement Directorate.