Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj set to be new AAP ministers after Sisodia and Jain resignations

Atishi is expected to handle key departments such as Education, Labour, and Tourism, and Saurabh Bharadwaj is likely to be assigned the PWD, and power and home departments, as per sources.

AAP MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj (Photos via their Facebook, Twitter pages)

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has picked MLAs Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi as the two new faces in the Delhi cabinet. According to sources, their names will be sent to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, as per rules, who will then forward them to the President for her assent.

This comes a day after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain resigned from their ministerial positions. While Sisodia is in CBI custody in the Delhi excise policy case, Jain is in Tihar Jail on allegations of money laundering in a case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

According to sources, Atishi is expected to handle key departments such as Education, Labour, and Tourism, especially in the run-up to the G20 summit, and Bharadwaj is likely to be assigned the Public Works Department (PWD), and power and home departments.

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Sources said there is a likelihood that Kailash Gahlot, who was assigned finance, PWD, home, power, planning, urban development, irrigation and flood control and water Tuesday night until new ministers are appointed, is expected to continue to hold finance and planning.

“He has been in the cabinet for a long time and has the responsibility of the Revenue department. Finance and planning are key departments, especially when the annual budget has to be presented,” said an official.

Sources also said that Gahlot had attended budget preparation meetings with Sisodia all of last week.

Both Bharadwaj and Atishi have been an active part of the AAP and governance for a considerable amount of time.

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Atishi was the advisor to the deputy chief minister in the education department until the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2018 said that appointments of 10 advisors were not done after following proper procedure. According to officials, she is clued into the happenings in the Education department and can hit the ground running.

Bharadwaj, meanwhile, is not a first-time minister. He was given the charge of transport in the 49-day AAP government formed in 2013. He is the National Spokesperson for the AAP and is also the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Vice-Chairperson.

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