Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will take oath along with his ministers on Saturday. AAP is likely to hold a meeting on Thursday evening to take a call on the Cabinet structure of the Delhi government. Here’s a look at some of the key contenders:
Manish Sisodia
He is often termed Arvind Kejriwal’s Man Friday. The 42-year-old former journalist has been closely working with Kejriwal since the days of the India Against Corruption movement. He had held several key ministries in the Delhi government formed by the AAP in 2013, including urban development, public works department, land and building, local bodies, and education. Sisodia is likely to retain most of these, as he is considered the best person, apart from Kejriwal, to co-ordinate with the Centre on crucial issues such as full statehood, allocation of land for building schools, colleges and re-structuring of bodies such as the Delhi Development Authority and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Somnath Bharti
Bharti was one of the controversial ministers in the AAP government in 2013, in charge of the law ministry. He was additionally handling tourism, art & culture, and administrative reforms. According to sources, Bharti, a lawyer by training, is likely to become Speaker of the Delhi assembly. He was mired in controversy after he conducted midnight raids at Delhi’s Khirki Extension and allegedly misbehaved with some African women.
Sourabh Bhardwaj
Bhardwaj was in-charge of the transport, food and supply, environment and election ministries in the previous AAP government. He defeated President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, from the Greater Kailash constituency. He is likely to remain in the new Cabinet.
Rakhi Birla
Birla, AAP’s woman Dalit face, was the party’s youngest minister in 2013, in-charge of women & child development, social welfare, and languages. However, Birla lost much of her sheen after losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party Udit Raj from a reserved seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Ever since, she has been keeping a low profile. According to some media reports, she could be kept out of the Cabinet this year
Adarsh Shastri
The grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, he is among the prominent faces likely to be inducted in the Cabinet. A former Apple executive, Shastri had mooted free Wi-Fi connections across the city, a unified transport smart card, and a mobile application for providing different services related to governance.
Gopal Rai
A founder-member of AAP, Rai is slated to get a berth in the Delhi Cabinet. He has been a part of key decisions such as candidate selection for the just-concluded Delhi elections and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He has also helped strengthen AAP’s base nationally.
Bandana Kumari
Head of AAP’s women wing, Kumari has won the assembly elections twice from the Shalimar Bagh constituency, a BJP stronghold. According to party sources, she was instrumental in bringing ‘Purvanchali’ support to the party and could be given a place in the Cabinet.
S K Bagga
A 61-year-old former advocate, Bagga shot to fame after defeating BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, Kiran Bedi, from the Krishna Nagar constituency, a BJP stronghold. Bagga was actively involved in the India Against Corruption movement. He had fought the elections on the promise of a simplified value-added tax structure for traders.
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