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AAP announces all candidates for Delhi polls
AAP announces final list of 38 candidates for Delhi elections, dropping 20 sitting MLAs to counter anti-incumbency; Kejriwal to contest again.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced its fourth and final list of 38 candidates for the Delhi assembly elections, becoming the first major party to declare all 70 contenders. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will contest from New Delhi constituency for the fourth consecutive time, while chief minister Atishi will seek re-election from Kalkaji.
The latest list confirms a key strategy, reported by HT on December 8, to counter anti-incumbency by dropping 20 sitting MLAs and shifting senior leaders, such as Manish Sisodia from his traditional Patparganj seat in East Delhi, which he has held since 2013, to Jangpura in South Delhi.
The final list was released after Kejriwal chaired a meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC). “Today Aam Aadmi Party announced its candidates on all 70 seats. The party is contesting the elections with full confidence and full preparation. BJP is missing,” Kejriwal said in a post on X. He criticized the BJP for lacking vision, saying, “They have no CM face, no team, no planning and no vision for Delhi. They have only one slogan, only one policy and only one mission - ‘Remove Kejriwal’.”
The BJP is yet to announce any candidate. A Delhi BJP leader said that the partly is making strong preparations with leaders visiting people. “The first list of the BJP will be announced soon,” said the BJP leader, asking not to be named.
The Congress announced its first list of 21 candidates on December 12.
The fourth AAP list includes health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj contesting from Greater Kailash and Somnath Bharti from Malviya Nagar, both for the fourth consecutive time. Other prominent candidates in the latest announcement include Shoaib Iqbal for Matia Mahal and Durgesh Pathak for Rajinder Nagar.
Two sitting MLAs have been replaced in this round. Kasturba Nagar MLA Madan Lal has been dropped in favour of Ramesh Pehalwan, described by Kejriwal as a “very active social worker.” In Uttam Nagar, MLA Naresh Balyan, recently rearrested under MCOCA following an extortion case, has been replaced by his wife Pooja Naresh Balyan.
Ministers retaining their seats in the final list include Mukesh Kumar Ahlawat (Sultanpur Majra), Raghuvinder Shokeen (Nangloi Jat), Imran Hussain (Ballimaran), and Gopal Rai (Babarpur). Former minister Satyendar Jain, who spent nearly two years in jail in a money laundering case before receiving bail in October, will contest from Shakur Basti for the fourth time.
The final list also includes Sanjeev Jha (Burari), Ajesh Yadav (Badli), Mohinder Goyal (Rithala), Jai Bhagwan (Bawana), Bandana Kumari (Shalimar Bagh), Preeti Tomar (Tri Nagar), Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur), Akhilesh Pati Tripathi (Model Town), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Vishesh Ravi (Karol Bagh), and Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar).
Other candidates announced include Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar), Vinay Mishra (Dwarka), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Dinesh Mohaniya (Sangam Vihar), Amanatullah Khan (Okhla), Kuldeep Kumar (Kondli), Virender Singh Kadian (Delhi Cantonment), Sahi Ram (Tughlakabad), and Pramila Tokas (RK Puram).
In its previous lists, two MLAs - SK Bagga (Krishna Nagar) and Parlad Singh Sawhney (Chandni Chowk) - were replaced by their sons. The party also fielded former opponents, including defeated BJP candidate Parvesh Ratan in Patel Nagar, Anil Jha in Kirari, and Brahm Singh Tanwar in Chhatarpur.
The party has dropped a total of 20 sitting MLAs across all four lists, including two who opted out - Shahdara MLA Ram Niwas Goel, who is the Speaker, and Timarpur MLA Dilip Pandey.
An AAP leader said the decisions were based on ground feedback and multiple surveys assessing performance and popularity.
Party leaders familiar with the matter said their internal surveys showed that while a sizeable portion of voters wanted Kejriwal back as CM, there was discontent against some legislators. The strategy appears aimed at pushing the burden of local non-performance onto MLAs while safeguarding brand Kejriwal.
While election dates are yet to be announced, the current assembly’s term expires on February 23, with polls expected by mid-February.
AAP currently holds 58 seats in the assembly, down from the 62 it won in 2020, following the resignation or disqualification of four members. The BJP holds the remaining eight seats. The Congress, despite failing to win any seats in 2015 and 2020, is working to revive its presence.
The party faces increasing allegations of financial misconduct and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Recent developments include Kejriwal stepping down as Delhi’s chief minister in September, with Atishi taking over the leadership.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva criticised Kejriwal’s claims of development: “Kejriwal’s corrupt vision and teamwork have made Delhi a model of water and air pollution, dilapidated roads and sewers, crumbling transport, and dysfunctional health and education systems.” He added that the party’s biggest achievements were “corruption scandals like the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ bungalow & the liquor scam,” predicting that Delhi’s voters would teach AAP “a political lesson in the February 2025 Assembly elections.”
