RS Rathee declared AAP candidate for Gurgaon

Rathee has been vocal about the alleged presence of ghost workers in the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). He had also taken up the issue of shifting the Sirhaul toll plaza, which was later removed by order of the High Court.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced the name of RS Rathee as its candidate for the Gurgaon assembly constituency. His name was announced by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta and Haryana party president Navin Jaihind during a large gathering of workers at the Sukhrali village community centre near Iffco Chowk.

Rathee, who is a sitting municipal councillor and has been associated with the AAP for the last five years (HT FILE)

Haryana is scheduled to go to polls next month and elections are likely to be announced in next few days.

Addressing the large gathering, AAP president Jaihind said that the BJP government had failed to provide electricity, water, health and education facilities to the people of Haryana, especially Gurugram, in the last five years and the people wanted a change. Jaihind said that their party would focus on improving basic services in the state along the lines of Delhi. “The government has failed to deliver basic facilities to the people of Haryana,” Jaihind said, while exhorting workers to reach out to voters in every household.

Dr Sushil Gupta, Rajya Sabha MP of the party, reiterated that the BJP had not been able to deliver on any of the promises it made to the people and it was time for a change. He announced the name of Rathee as the party candidate from Gurgaon and asked people to vote for him.

As a councillor, Rathee has been vocal about the alleged presence of ghost workers in the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). He had also taken up the issue of shifting the Sirhaul toll plaza, which was later removed by order of the High Court. He has been a votary of the transfer of private colonies to the MCG so that they are maintained by the corporation. He had fought the assembly polls in 2014 as an independent candidate.

The AAP’s campaign in Gurugram is focussed on saving the Aravallis, making the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority functional, ensure that the Gurugram Metropolitan Development receive external development costs from developers, and that Metro connectivity is extended to cover the entire city in the next five years.