In the wake of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s move to effect major changes in its organisation at the national level, the party circles in Punjab are abuzz that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann may undertake a reshuffle of his ministry soon. On Friday, the AAP named former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia as its Punjab in-charge and ex-Delhi minister Satyendar Jain as the co-in-charge, over a month after the party lost the Delhi Assembly polls to the BJP. AAP sources said that party national convener and ex-Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal called two Punjab Cabinet ministers to Delhi Saturday with their “report cards” on their performance. Food minister Lal Chand Kataruchak and power minister Harbhajan Singh, who met Kejriwal in the national capital, were summoned to present their reports on the utilisation of funds allocated to their respective departments, party sources said. Both ministers have also been at the centre of recent controversies. Harbhajan Singh made the headlines in February after engineers of the power department alleged that they were asked to contribute to a “party fund”. The issue rocked a special session of the Assembly, where the Opposition Congress claimed that the money was intended for the AAP’s Delhi election campaign, demanding an inquiry into the matter. In 2023, Kataruchak was embroiled in a controversy when accusations of sexual misconduct going back to 2013 had emerged. The issue had reached the National Commission for Scheduled Caste (NCSC), which had asked several Punjab officials to appear before it over the allegations. The Opposition had started a campaign against the minister, who was not dropped from the Mann Cabinet at the time. The complainant later withdrew the case against him, while the NCSC closed the probe. With these two ministers at the centre of a possible Cabinet reshuffle, an AAP source said, “The rejig may happen in April. However, there are some leaders who are opposing it while some others are in its favour.” After his shock defeat in the Delhi polls, Kejriwal now appears to be focusing hard on the party affairs in Punjab. Sources said he wants a few “strong faces” in the Mann Cabinet. Kejriwal’s meeting with former minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar, with whom he stayed during his recent Punjab trip, in Amritsar had been closely watched. Nijjar was a member of Mann’s Cabinet from 2022 to 2023. Notably, on the first day of Punjab Assembly session on Friday, a few AAP MLAs were heard telling Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan in jest that he should “now sit on Treasury benches”, where senior leaders and ministers are generally seated, instead of the Speaker’s chair. There are 18 berths in the Punjab ministry, including the CM's position. The Mann government currently has 16 ministers, with two slots vacant. With the party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora contesting the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll, necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi, there is also a buzz that Arora could be inducted into the Mann Cabinet if he wins the election. There is also speculation that Arora’s win the bypoll, which would vacate his Rajya Sabha seat, could result in Kejriwal being nominated to the Upper House from Punjab. So far, Mann’s Cabinet has been rejigged six times since the AAP came to power in early 2022. Last September, the Punjab Cabinet was reshuffled shortly after Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail on bail, where he was sent in connection with the Delhi liquor “scam” case. Four ministers were then dropped, while five new faces were inducted. Those dropped were Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Bram Shankar Jimpa, Balkar Singh, and Anmol Gagan Mann. The new inductees were Barinder Kumar Goyal, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Ravjot Singh, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, and Mohinder Bhagat. The first Cabinet expansion took place in July 2022, when Aman Arora, Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Fauja Singh Sarari, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Anmol Gagan Mann were inducted. In January 2023, minister Fauja Singh Sarari resigned and Balbir Singh was inducted into the Cabinet. In March 2023, several ministers’ portfolios were changed. Then in May 2023, Nijjar was dropped from the Cabinet, and Balkar Singh and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian were sworn in. In November 2023, the CM effected changes in the portfolios of some ministers.
