Synopsis
All sitting ministers will be retained in the new Delhi Cabinet led by Atishi, with two new members possibly joining. Atishi is set to take oath as chief minister on September 21. The reshuffle comes as Assembly elections approach, ensuring stability in the government.
AgenciesAll the sitting ministers will be retained in the new Delhi Cabinet led by Atishi while two new members may join the government, AAP sources said on Wednesday, ruling out any “experiment” as elections are just months away. The sources said while incumbent Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Imran Hussain will be retained, Karol Bagh MLA Vishesh Ravi or Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar could be among the new faces.
Atishi is likely to take oath as the chief minister of Delhi along with her ministers on September 21.
“Since the Assembly polls are approaching, not much experiment is expected in the selection of members of council of ministers and old faces will most certainly be retained while two new ministers could join in,” said a party leader.
Kejriwal on Tuesday tendered his resignation to Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena and Atishi, who was earlier chosen as Leader of the AAP’s legislature party in the Assembly, staked claim to form a new government.
Vishesh Ravi or Kuldeep Kumar could be inducted to fill the vacancy created by resignation of then Social Welfare minister Raaj Kumar Anand, AAP sources claimed.
Anand resigned from the Kejriwal government and quit Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in April this year.
Names of party MLAs Jarnail Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Somnath Bharti and Sanjeev Jha were doing the rounds in the party circles as the probables to fill the vacancy created due to the elevation of Atishi on the chief minister’s post.
The party sources said Delhi Lt Governor has sent Kejriwal’s resignation letter to the President Droupadi Murmu and proposed September 21 as swearing in of Atishi.
The Council of Ministers in Delhi has seven members including the chief minister.
The tenure of the new chief minister and two new entrants in the cabinet will be brief as Delhi Assembly polls are due in February next year.
In the Kejriwal government, Atishi had 13 departments including education, finance, revenue, PWD and power among others. If she decides to keep these, it will be after long that the Delhi chief minister will have multiple portfolios.
Outgoing chief minister Kejriwal did not have any portfolio.
