NEW DELHI: Shortly after being named as a minister in the Rekha Gupta-led BJP cabinet on Thursday, Manjinder Singh Sirsa took a direct jab at former Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, saying, “Kejriwal will have to spend most of his time in jail.”
Sirsa, who is set to take oath as a Delhi minister today, expressed gratitude to the party’s top leadership, saying, “I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of the team that will implement PM Modi’s vision… Delhi will get clean water, clean air. We will take action against those involved in corruption, and Arvind Kejriwal will have to spend most of his time in jail.”
Sirsa secured his position by winning the Rajouri Garden seat, defeating AAP’s A Dhanwati Chandela by over 18,000 votes.
The BJP has announced its cabinet for Delhi, including Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP’s CM candidate Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency. Other ministers are Kapil Mishra, a former AAP leader who switched to the BJP, along with Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, and Pankaj Kumar Singh.
The BJP secured 48 seats in the Delhi Assembly, reducing AAP’s count to just 22 seats, a sharp drop from its 2020 tally of 62. Congress failed to make an impact in this closely contested election.
