The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has shortlisted four candidates, including at least one incumbent legislator, for the west Delhi Lok Sabha seat — the only seat from which the party has not fielded a candidate so far.
A senior AAP leader said that all four shortlisted candidates are from ‘within the party’. In the 2014 elections, the party had fielded journalist-turned-politician Jarnail Singh from the seat.
When asked about the shortlist, AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai said, “We are exploring all possibilities.”
On March 2, AAP had announced names of party candidates on six out of seven seats in Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party had not announced a candidate for the west Delhi seat, leading to speculation that the party might be looking at an alliance with the Congress. The buzz about the tie up with Congress intensified on Saturday when Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit visited Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath Road resident for a meeting, three senior Congress leaders confirmed.
According to a Congress office bearer, Dikshit went to Gandhi’s residence around 3.45 pm and came out around 4.30 pm. Dikshit later briefed a few party workers about the meeting and told them that she had gone to Gandhi’s residence to invite her for a programme scheduled for Monday.
{{/usCountry}}According to a Congress office bearer, Dikshit went to Gandhi’s residence around 3.45 pm and came out around 4.30 pm. Dikshit later briefed a few party workers about the meeting and told them that she had gone to Gandhi’s residence to invite her for a programme scheduled for Monday.
{{/usCountry}}But speculation of an alliance with the AAP are rife within the Congress .
“Several Congress leaders support the alliance with AAP and they are trying to convince Rahul Gandhi,” said senior Congress leader P C Chacko. He, however, said that he did not know what had transpired between Dikshit and Gandhi in Saturday’s meeting. Earlier this week, after a meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit had told the media that her party will not tie up with the AAP.
A senior AAP leader said: “It is very important for us to take the final call on the west Delhi seat only after Congress and BJP field their candidates.”
And there was a reason, he explained.
All the six candidates who have so far been fielded by the AAP had been appointed as election in-charges in their respective constituencies by mid-2018. By September 2018, the party had appointed an election in-charge, Rajpal Solanki, for the west Delhi seat too. In October, Solanki suffered a minor heart attack and resigned from his pos. After him, the party has failed to appoint anyone to replace him. Unlike the other candidates who have already acted as constituency in-charge, the west Delhi candidate will definitely not get adequate time, senior leaders said.
Push for statehood
The AAP on Saturday started a campaign called Prachar Rath under which it deployed e-rickshaws fitted with screens and audio systems in four Lok Sabha constituencies.
According to Gopal Rai, Delhi convener of AAP, the party has arranged 20 such e rickshaws for each of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi. The audio visual systems installed in these e-rickshaws would play Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s speeches elaborating on the benefits of full statehood for Delhi.