AAP picks Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi for ‘150-speed’ pace, 'middle class image'

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, March 1: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday decided to induct party leaders Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi as replacements for former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that if Sisodia and Jain had been working at ‘80-speed’, Bhardwaj and Atishi will work at ‘150-speed’.

The AAP on Wednesday held a meeting of the party MLAs where it was decided to include Bhardwaj and Atishi in the council of ministers. Delhi being a Union territory with an Assembly is mandated to have only 10 per cent of the Assembly strength as MLAs, including the chief minister. While Sisodia had held charges of 18 departments, they are likely to be distributed among the existing ministers and the two new entrants in the council of ministers.

“The BJP wants to stop the work of Delhi. To stop us from working, Sisodia and Jain have been framed. If they had been working with 80-speed, Bhardwaj and Atishi will work with 150-speed. The work of Delhi will not stop,” Kejriwal told reporters after the meeting of the AAP MLAs. Kejriwal is also the national convenor of the AAP.

Sticking to the middle-class and educated image of the AAP, the chief minister stressed on the educational qualifications of Bhardwaj and Atishi. “Both are highly educated and competent,” said Kejriwal. While Bhardwaj is an IIT-graduate, Atishi has done fellowship in London as part of her higher studies.

Both Atishi and Bhardwaj are known to be part of the kitchen cabinet of Kejriwal in the political circle. The two leaders of the AAP were instrumental in the AAP squaring off with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the mayoral election in the MCD and also the standing committee. Atishi is known to be a firebrand leaders within the AAP ranks, with even her political rivals acknowledging her aggressive brand of politics.

By drafting Bhardwaj and Atishi in the council of ministers, the AAP has stayed the course to appeal to the middle class constituency in the national capital, which for over 15 years was nursed by late Sheila Dikshit. At the same time, Kejriwal continues to protect the ‘aam aadmi’ image of the party, as the two leaders to be joining the council of ministers are without political legacy.