AAP spoilt for choice before cabinet formation
The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to decide on the name of ministers by Thursday, two days before Delhi’s next chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is sworn in at Ramlila Maidan.
The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to decide on the name of ministers by Thursday, two days before Delhi’s next chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is sworn in at Ramlila Maidan.
Kejriwal’s close aide and Patparganj MLA Manish Sisodia is certain to feature in Kejriwal’s cabinet. Dwarka MLA and former Apple executive Adarsh Shashtri, who is likely to drive AAP’s ambitious free WiFi project, is another strong contender to make the cut.
The Delhi government has the provision of six ministers. “It’s a problem of plenty. It’s a massive mandate. We have MLAs from all sections of the society. The challenge is to ensure a fair representation with competence,” said a party strategist.
Those who were ministers in the previous AAP government and are in the running this time around too are: techie-turned-politician Saurabh Bhardwaj, architect Satyendra Jain, Dalit face Girish Soni, former journalist Rakhi Birla and lawyer Somnath Bharti.
Former education minister Sisodia said the focus would be on providing a trustworthy government that will make Delhi India’s first corruption-free city. “We will fulfill the needs of the people. We will complete what we couldn’t in our previous innings,” he said.
For Shastri, the first priority for the government will be to deliver on the promises made to Delhiites on power, water and women security.
“The government will also start working on its promises of installing CCTV cameras and Wi-Fi across the city. We made detailed plans during Delhi Dialogues and will now focus on implementing them,” he said.
Jain said the plan was to work according to the things that have been promised in the manifesto. “The detailed manifesto is our guiding light as it has been made after a lot of consideration and planning,” he said.
Chief minister-designate Kejriwal will take oath at Ramlila Maidan — which was witness to his swearing-in ceremony last year as well, when his Aam Aadmi Party supported by the Congress had formed a government that lasted for 49 days.