CM Atishi retains Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot in Delhi Cabinet

With her taking oath as Delhi's Chief Minister, Atishi on Saturday became only the third woman to hold the position in the capital after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.

Atishi, who will follow the two-time CM Arvind Kejriwal, has been given the responsibility after the latter came out of the Tihar jail on bail in an ongoing case.

In her new cabinet, Atishi has retained veteran Aam Aadmi Party leaders Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Kailash Gehlot, and Imran Hussain.

Mukesh Ahlawat, a first-time MLA from the Sultanpur Majra constituency, is also making his debut in the Atishi-led Delhi cabinet.

After taking an oath Delhi Minister, Ahlawat said, “The ministry that I have received has always been challenging. However, I will fulfill my responsibilities properly.”

Talking about the objectives AAP face now, Rai said, the new cabinet has to take forward the work that was started in Delhi under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal to new heights by the time of next elections.

"Along with this, we will work as a team to control pollution that increases during the winters. We will also work on other pending work,” he said.

Here's a full list of AAP leader who will be a part of Atishi's cabinet:

• Gopal Rai
• Saurabh Bharadwaj
• Kailash Gahlot
• Imran Hussain
• Mukesh Ahlawat

Notably, unlike AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi is likely to hold major portfolios in the Delhi government.

“The top leadership has made it clear that Atishi has to focus on governance. She is expected to retain key portfolios such as finance, education, PWD, and power,” a party leader was quoted as saying.

A prominent leader of AAP, the new CM Atishi has played a key role in improving education in Delhi's government-run schools during her time as an advisor to the former Education Minister, Manish Sisodia.