Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj to Take Charge as Delhi Cabinet Ministers

New Delhi: Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, two AAP MLAs, will take charge as ministers in the Delhi cabinet. They are expected to be sworn in on Thursday. President Murmu appointed these two as the ministers of the Delhi cabinet on Tuesday.

According to the Union Home Ministry notification, the President has also accepted the resignations tendered by former Delhi Cabinet Ministers, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. Delhi is to have a maximum of seven cabinet ministers, including the Chief Minister.

The Delhi government is also expected to present its Budget this month, as the Delhi assembly is expected to be convened on March 17.

AAP spokesperson and Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Bharadwaj is a three-time MLA who in the past served as transport and environment minister in Kejriwal’s first government in 2013-14. Atishi was elected as MLA for the first time in 2020. She has worked with Sisodia to reform Delhi’s education system.

The new ministers will be joining the cabinet at a time when the AAP government is engaged in a turf war with the LG over alleged interference in governance by Raj Niwas and insubordination by senior officials.