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With Arvind Kejriwal certain to become the chief minister of Delhi,the focus has shifted to his possible council of ministers.
Officially,the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has maintained that the referendum it sought on government formation left it little time to give a thought to this subject. Sources,however,said,some names were doing the rounds. They said AAP spokesperson and Patparganj MLA Manish Sisodia was almost certain to make the Cabinet.
Sisodia has been one of the faces of the AAP since its inception. He was also an important part of the Jan Lokpal Andolan. Other familiar faces part of the movement,such as Kumar Vishwas,Sanjay Singh and Prashant Bhushan,did not contest the polls. Sisodia enjoys a very high status in the party and he will get an important ministry, a source said.
Sisodia is a former journalist. He was an RTI activist before he joined the Lokpal movement.
Another name in the mix is Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti. His credentials as an IIT alumnus who went on to do law are very strong. He often advises the party on policy legalese, an AAP leader said.
Bharti won the tough Malviya Nagar seat beating former Congress minister Kiran Walia and former mayor Arti Mehra of the BJP.
Laxmi Nagar MLA Vinod Kumar Binny,who defeated former health minister AK Walia,is also in the fray.
Binny left the Congress to join the India Against Corruption movement. He was a councillor in East Delhi and has political experience. He has also been holding mohalla sabhas and was one of those who suggested the idea as a policy of the AAP, a party leader said.
AAP officials said one of the three women MLAs of the party was also likely to find a place in the council of ministers.
Sources said Jangpura MLA Maninder Singh Dhir was also being considered.
Backgrounds will be considered. Delhi University professor Harish Khanna may be involved in education,while Akhileshpati Tripathi could be included to represent the youth, an official said.
Yogendra Yadav,however,said,It is not the face of the minister that matters but the issues that will be taken up. We will only come to know of the council in the next few days.
Ashish Talwar,member of the AAP national executive,said Kejriwal will decide. It is up to the Chief Minister to decide the council of ministers. If he wants he can involve the party in decision-making, he said.