Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj new faces in Delhi Cabinet

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has recommended the names of AAP MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj to the Lieutenant Governor for their appointment to the Cabinet, sources claimed on Wednesday. The development comes after the resignation of AAP ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, the key faces of the city government, who were instrumental in steering the national capital through the coronavirus crisis. Bhardwaj, who is also the party's national spokesperson, is currently serving the Delhi Jal Board as its vice chairman.

The legislator from Greater Kailash was also a minister during the first stint of the AAP government. Atishi, who represents the Kalkaji constituency, has been a key member of Sisodia's education team. She had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi constituency and lost to BJP's Gautam Gambhir.

Till Atishi and Bhardwaj are inducted into the cabinet, ministers Raaj Kumar Anand and Kailash Gahlot will take care of the portfolios that have fallen vacant following Sisodia's resignation. While Gahlot has been given the additional charge of finance, PWD along with some departments, Anand, who is also the social welfare minister, will take care of education, health and other departments. AAP's second-in-command, Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in a money laundering case. Sisodia and Jain resigned from the Cabinet on Tuesday. Official sources said Gahlot is likely to present the Delhi Budget next month. Gahlot is already in charge of six departments, including revenue and transport, while Raj Kumar Anand has four portfolios. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai is looking after three departments, while Imran Hussain is in charge of only two departments -- food and civil supplies, and election. Sisodia's workload had almost doubled after Jain's arrest, and he was handling most of the crucial departments of the city government. Jain continued to be a minister in the Delhi government even after his arrest but without any portfolio.