New Delhi, February , 2015: Lawyers, former journalist and architect will be the ministers in the new AAP government, but they all have one thing in common that is everyone has been an activist.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was himself an activist. A former IITian who went on the become an IRS officer. He quit the government service and went to shake the political establishment, as the kingpin of Anna movement and later formed the Aam Aadmi Party. The soon to be deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia (43) is a former journalist, who quit his job to start an NGO with Kejriwal and assisted him in drafting of RTI.
A shadow of Kejriwal, he was an important leader during the Anna movement and is a founder member of the AAP. Another founder member and senior party leader Gopal Rai who will also be sworn in on Saturday as a minister, has been associated with Kejriwal since its India Against Corruption (IAC) days. He started his career as a student’s leader.
Known to be an organisation man, Rai unsucessfully contested Assembly election from Baburpur in 2013. He is also a member of Political Affairs Committee — the apex decision making body — of the party. Shakurbasti MLA Satyendra Kumar Jain (50) is an architect by profession and associated with Kejriwal since IAC days.
A former Health minister, he has also found a place in the new cabinet. MLAs from Tri Nagar MLA Jitendra Tomar and Sultanpuri Majra Sandeep Kumar both are lawyers by profession and have been associated with the party since its inception.
Both, first time MLAs, had unsucessfully contested 2013 Assembly election and lost by a narrow margin. Kumar could be given the charge of Law department. Asim Ahmed Khan, MLA from Matia Mahal, also a first time MLA, is the only minority face in the new AAP government. PTI
