Apart from ex-cricketer Harbhajan Singh, AAP’s Raghav Chadha, poll strategist Sandeep Pathak, LPU founder Ashok Mittal & businessman Sanjeev Arora are candidates for RS polls.
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) nominees for the upcoming Rajya Sabha (RS) elections are a mix of personalities from different walks of life.
Former international cricketer Harbhajan Singh, joint in-charge of the party’s Punjab unit Raghav Chadha, AAP election strategist Sandeep Pathak, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal and Ludhiana-based businessman Sanjeev Arora are the five names announced by the party Monday.
Polls for 13 Rajya Sabha seats — two from Assam, one from Himachal Pradesh, three from Kerala, one from Nagaland, one from Tripura and five from Punjab — are scheduled to be held on 31 March, and according to a senior party functionary, the AAP brass had been in touch with Harbhajan Singh for a while for his possible nomination.
According to a statement issued by the party, the former India off-spinner was picked for his credentials as a sports icon, Pathak for his skills as a political strategist, Arora and Mittal for their social work and leadership qualities, and Raghav Chadha for being a “youth icon”.
AAP’s announcement of the five names has, however, caused discontent among sections of the party’s Punjab unit, ThePrint has learnt. Some leaders claim that most of the candidates are outsiders who were not involved in building the party in the state.
