New Delhi : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday released its second list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi. The list announced the names of 20 candidates following a crucial meeting of its Political Affairs Committee (PAC) on Monday, chaired by party convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party changed former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's seat from Patparganj. He will now contest from Jangpura seat. Awadh Ojha has been made a candidate from Sisodia's old seat Patparganj.
The names in the list include Manish Sisodia from Jangpura, Dinesh Bhardwaj from Narela, Surender Pal Singh Bittu from Timarpur, Mukesh Goel from Adarsh nagar, Rakesh Jatav Dharamrakshak from Mangolpuri and Pradeep Mittal from Rohini.
The other names in the list were Punardeep Singh Sawhney (Saby) from Chandni Chowk, Parvesh Ratan from Patel nagar, Rakhi Bidlan from Madipur, Pravin Kumar from Janakpuri, Surendar Bharadwaj from Bijwasan, and Joginder Solanki from Palam.
Prem Kumar Chauhan is contesting from Deoli, Anjana Parcha from Trilokpuri, Avadh Ojha from Patparganj, Vikas Bagga from Krishna nagar, Naveen Choudhary from Gandhi nagar, Jitender Singh Shunty from Shahdara Padamshri and Adil Ahmad Khan from Mustafabad.
In its second list of candidates, the Aam Aadmi Party has dropped 17 sitting MLAs, opting to replace them with new faces. However, three familiar names have been re-nominated: Manish Sisodia and Rakhi Bidlan, both current MLAs, along with Deepu Chaudhary, a former candidate who lost in the previous election.
Manish Sisodia in a post on X, thanked AAP leadership for the responsibility of contesting elections from Jangpura. "My heartfelt gratitude to Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party, who showed faith in me and gave me the responsibility of contesting elections from Jangpura.I consider myself a teacher, not a politician. Patparganj was not just an assembly constituency for me, but the heart of the education revolution in Delhi," read his post.
"When Avadh Ojha ji joined the party and there was a demand to field him in the elections, all I could think was that there could be no better seat than Patparganj for a teacher. I am happy to hand over the responsibility of Patparganj to another teacher. Now I am ready to work with everyone in Jangpura to do the same work that I did in Patparganj for education, service and development," he said.
"For me, politics is not a means to power, but a means to education, honesty and public welfare. From Patparganj to Jangpura, my resolve is firm: to make Delhi even better. Your trust is my strength. Jai Hind!" said the post.
AAP held a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting this morning with the agenda of finalizing the party's list of candidates, with a particular focus on selecting individuals who can effectively represent AAP in various constituencies across Delhi.
In view of the Delhi Assembly elections, AAP women's wing is organising small-scale meetings in all 70 constituencies of Delhi to directly interact with women and communicate the
welfare schemes which the AAP-led Delhi government has provided for women, a press release stated.
According to the release, AAP has formed 5,000 women's groups, with each group comprising eight members. Each group is tasked with connecting with ten women.These groups hold three to four meetings daily to ensure the success of the campaign.
As the party continues to strengthen its position ahead of the elections, the second list of candidates includes key names and new faces, as AAP seeks to maintain its dominance in Delhi's political landscape.
AAP's election machinery is working to establish its strategy for retaining power in Delhi, with Arvind Kejriwal at the forefront of the decision-making process. Earlier on Sunday, AAP announced the members of the Screening Committees for the upcoming local body elections in Punjab.