Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi were appointed as ministers in the Delhi government by President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday, 7 March.
This comes days after Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain resigned from the cabinet. Sisodia and Jain are in jail over a the alleged liquor scam and money laundering charges respectively.
"The President is pleased to accept, on the advice of the Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the resignation of Shri Manish Sisodia, a Minister in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with immediate effect," an official notification said.
Atishi and Bhardwaj are MLAs from adjacent constituencies in South-East Delhi - Kalkaji and Greater Kailash respectively.
Why Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj?
"They are natural choices. Saurabh Bhardwaj had been working under Satyendar Jain since he become vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board. Atishi had been involved with the education policy from the beginning. So they are ideal choices to fit into Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia's shoes," an AAP leader said.
Bharadwaj has been an MLA of the AAP since 2013 and is currently the vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board.
Atishi is an MLA of the AAP since 2020 and has been associated with the party since its inception.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)