AAP fielding RS member for Punjab bypoll sets off buzz about Kejriwal
CHANDIGARH, Feb 26: AAP on Wednesday named Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as its candidate for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll, drawing claims from opposition parties in Punjab that party supremo Arvind Kejriwal would enter the Upper House in his place.
Arora will have to resign from the Rajya Sabha if he wins the bypoll, the date for which is yet to be announced.
The passing of AAP’s Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, who died of a gunshot injury after his licensed weapon accidentally discharged last month, led to the Ludhiana West seat falling vacant.
Kejriwal faced defeat from his New Delhi constituency as the BJP swept AAP in the Delhi Assembly polls earlier this month.
An AAP spokesperson, however, dismissed the opposition parties’ claims.
Arora’s name as the Ludhiana West bypoll candidate was announced by AAP national general secretary Sandeep Pathak in a post on X.
A Ludhiana-based industrialist who also runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust, the 61-year-old has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2022.
Arora said he was grateful to the party leadership for fielding him.
“Humbled and grateful to the leadership AAP for reposing faith in me to contest the Ludhiana West bye-elections. As someone deeply connected to my hometown, I look forward to serving my people with dedication and sincerity,” he said in a post on X.
AAP Punjab president Aman Arora said, “Sanjeev Arora is a dedicated leader with a proven track record of serving the people of Ludhiana. He embodies the values of AAP and is committed to carrying forward the vision of late MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi for Ludhiana West.”
Following the announcement, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira claimed that Kejriwal would replace Arora in the Upper House.
“If Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora is nominated as AAP candidate for the Ludhiana West bypoll, I am sure Arvind Kejriwal will take his Rajya Sabha membership!” Khaira said in a post on X.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia also claimed that “power hungry” Kejriwal was seeking a Rajya Sabha nomination from Punjab.
In a statement here, Majithia said Arora had been nominated as the party candidate from Ludhiana West constituency “solely to pave the way” for Kejriwal’s entry into the Rajya Sabha.
AAP’s “game plan” was to “use the government’s might” to get Arora elected to the Assembly so that the Rajya Sabha seat gets vacated, he said, adding, “Kejriwal wants to get twin benefits, including a government bungalow in his name in the national capital as well as the perks and power of an MP.” The SAD leader said it was “most shameful” to see Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann “completely surrendering at the feet of the AAP high command in Delhi” in the last three years.
“Earlier the treasury of Punjab was looted to preach for AAP and the failed Kejriwal model throughout the country. Now the AAP convener is seeking a nomination to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab,” Majithia alleged.
Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin lashed out at the AAP, saying that the nomination of Sanjeev Arora for the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll and Arvind Kejriwal “getting ready to enter the Rajya Sabha” from Punjab shows AAP’s “bankruptcy.” AAP’s Punjab spokesperson Neel Garg, however, dubbed the claims as rumours.
“The bypoll date has not been announced yet. They (opposition parties) have started spreading rumours. There is no truth in it. Who goes to the Rajya Sabha will be decided when the bypoll result comes. The best candidate will be sent to the Rajya Sabha,” Garg told reporters.
Asked who would replace Sanjeev Arora as Rajya Sabha member, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said AAP will decide about it.
“The opposition only makes allegations. Let it do so. But is there any illegality in anything? Our (former PM) Manmohan Singh used to be nominated from another state to enter (Rajya Sabha),” he said.Asked whether he would welcome Kejriwal’s entry into the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, Sandhwan said, “We welcome every move decided by the party. Why not?” (PTI)