AAP leaders Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi to replace Satyendra Jain, Sisodia in Delhi Cabinet

Delhi (India), March 1, 2023: New Delhi is likely to see new appointments in the ministerial ranks of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as senior leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain have stepped down from their positions.

Sources suggest that prominent party members Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi are likely to take over as ministers in the AAP government. The Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal have reportedly sent the necessary documents to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena for the appointments to proceed.

Bhardwaj, the chief spokesperson of the AAP and vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board, has previously served as a cabinet minister in the AAP government. Atishi, a member of the AAP’s political affairs committee, is a prominent face of the party and has served as an advisor to Sisodia primarily on education.

Sisodia, who was in charge of 18 departments, and Health Minister Jain, who has been in jail since his arrest in May 2021 in a money laundering case, resigned from their positions on Monday. The resignations came after the Supreme Court refused relief to Sisodia in the liquor policy case and asked him to challenge his arrest in the Delhi High Court.

The BJP has been questioning why the two ministers continued to hold cabinet berths despite being arrested in corruption cases. The AAP has stated that the resignations are not an acceptance of guilt and described them as an “administrative step.”

For now, Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand is handling the departments of education and health, while Kailash Gahlot is looking after the power and water supply departments. The Constitution provides for a maximum of seven ministers for Delhi, or 10 percent of the total number of 70 Assembly seats.