The national Capital is all set to get two new Ministers with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal forwarding the names of Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi to Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena to fill the posts vacated by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain who resigned following alleged corruption charges against them.
Bhardwaj is the MLA of the Greater Kailash constituency while Atishi, who will be the first woman Minister in the Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet represents Kalkaji.
According to Kejriwal, it will take about 20-25 days for formally inducting Atishi and Bhardwaj in the Cabinet. The portfolios will be shuffled again then and evenly distributed.
The development comes a day after Sisodia and 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.
Meanwhile, the L-G has received the resignation letters of Sisodia and Jain, and has forwarded them to President Murmu along with the new names suggested for the Cabinet.
“The L-G, upon request from the Chief Minister to accept the resignations of Ministers Sisodia and Jain, on February 28, has recommended to the President that the resignations may be accepted,” said a Raj Niwas official.
“Once the names are cleared, the oath-taking process of the newly-inducted Ministers will take place within 48 hours,” the sources added.
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, said the sources.
While Gahlot has been given the additional charge of finance, PWD, planning, urban development, irrigation and flood control and water along with some departments, Anand, who is also the social welfare minister, will take care of education, health and other departments.
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.
A notification to this effect was issued on Wednesday, making it clear that Gahlot will present the Delhi Government budget 2023-24 in the Delhi Assembly until new Ministers are appointed.
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.
An engineer by qualification who has worked in the United States for a short stint, Bhardwaj is a close aide of Kejriwal who has, over the years, entrusted him with significant responsibilities both within the government as well as the party. Bhardwaj, 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. Sources said that Bhardwaj is likely to be assigned the Public Works Department (PWD), and power and home departments.
Atishi, 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.
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.
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.