AAP Bypoll Name Sparks Kejriwal's RS Entry Buzz

Businessman and politician Sanjeev Arora was named as AAP candidate for upcoming Ludhiana West assembly bypoll

- HT Correspondents

NEW DELHI/LUDHIANA: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday named a sitting Rajya Sabha member as its candidate for an upcoming assembly bypoll in Punjab, fueling speculation that former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will fill the vacant Upper House seat even as the party sought to scotch the rumors.

The party said that Sanjeev Arora, a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, will be its candidate for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll, whose date is yet to be announced. The seat fell vacant when sitting legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi died of a gunshot injury after his licensed weapon accidentally went off last month.

The announcement sparked allegations from the Congress and the BJP that Kejriwal, who was defeated in the Delhi polls last month and is no longer a member of the Capital's assembly, will seek Arora's Upper House seat.

If the businessman-politician, who was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in 2022, fights the bypoll, he will have to resign from the Rajya Sabha, leading to the seat falling vacant.

"I strongly condemn the back door entry of Arvind Kejriwal into Rajya Sabha from Punjab by striking a deal with MP Sanjiv Arora promising him a cabinet berth if elected from Ludhiana West by election!" Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said on X.