President appoints Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj as Delhi cabinet ministers

President Droupadi Murmu appointed AAP MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj as ministers in the Delhi cabinet Tuesday. They are initially expected to be sworn in on March 9, Thursday.

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

AAP spokesperson and DJB vice-chairman Bharadwaj is a three-term MLA who served as transport and environment minister in Kejriwal’s first government in 2013-14. Atishi elected as MLA for the first time in 2020, has worked with Sisodia on the city’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.

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