Atishi to become first woman minister in Kejriwal Cabinet

Senior AAP leader Atishi, who is set to become the first woman minister in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet, has been a key member of the team tasked with implementing the party's educational reforms in the national capital.

Atishi, along with AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, are the two leaders whose names have been forwarded for appointment as ministers after Kejriwal's trusted lieutenants Manish Sisodia and Satyender Jain, both arrested on corruption charges, resigned from their Cabinet posts.

Bharadwaj (43) is the party's national spokesperson and currently serving as the vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board.

The two leaders are usually at the forefront in interactions with media and during various protests organised by the party.

Speaking to PTI, Bharadwaj said, "The Centre wanted to stop the work done in Delhi and we will not let that happen. We are thankful to the CM for having faith in me and Atishi, and we will continue to work for the people of Delhi."

Atishi (41), who represents the Kalkaji constituency in the assembly, had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi seat but she lost to the BJP's Gautam Gambhir. Bharadwaj, who is a three-time MLA from the Greater Kailash assembly constituency, has also served as a transport minister in the Delhi cabinet during the first stint of the AAP government.

A computer science engineer, Bharadwaj is also a law graduate from the Osmania University. He has worked abroad for a brief period of time before the joining the Aam Aadmi Party in 2013.

While Sisodia, who was handling 18 of the total 33 departments in the Delhi government, was arrested on Sunday evening by the CBI in the Delhi excise policy case, Jain, currently lodged in Tihar jail, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in connection with a money laundering case. Jain continued to be a minister in the Delhi government even after his arrest.