The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is “fishing” in the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) waters for “strong candidates” before the 2025 Delhi election. The AAP on Thursday released its first list of 11 candidates including six turncoats who joined the party from Congress or the BJP, for the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi scheduled to take place in February next year.
The AAP has denied a poll pass to three sitting Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and subsequent lists will show if they are accommodated in other seats. They are Kirari MLA Rituraj Jha, Seelampur legislator Abdul Rahman and Matiala MLA Gulab Singh Yadav. The development came after AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal chaired a meeting of the party’s political affairs committee (PAC) at his residence in the national capital. While Brahm Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur), Anil Jha (Kirari), BB Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar) had recently quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the AAP, Zubair Chaudhary (Seelampur), Veer Singh Dhingan (Seemapuri) amd Somesh Shokeen (Matiala) joined the AAP after quitting the Congress. Sharing the list on X (formerly Twitter), the AAP posted: “First list of AAP candidates for Delhi Elections is OUT!! All the best to all the candidates. Phir laayenge Kejriwal (sic).”
With a mix of experienced leaders and newcomers, AAP is preparing for a possible tough battle in the 2025 elections, aiming to retain its stronghold in the national capital.
As a shrewd politician, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal realized that people will not vote to his party on his name or on the politics of perceptions due to corruption charges leveled against him. He needs strong candidates to counter anti-incumbency in more than 30 seats. The game plan could see sitting MLAs dropped to counter the anti-incumbency factor.
“Many of those chosen have a proven track record of working tirelessly for their communities, addressing issues such as healthcare, education, and public amenities. Despite facing electoral setbacks in the past, these candidates have maintained a strong presence on the ground, demonstrating their commitment to public service over personal ambition,” the AAP said in a statement. Kejriwal has already reiterated his party’s six free ‘revris’ to Delhi, electricity, water, education, health pilgrimage and bus travel to women.
Delhi AAP convener Gopal Rai said the eight seats the party failed to win in 2020 were prioritised while finalising the candidates as it wants to have an all-round campaign in those constituencies. “The names of 11 candidates have been finalised. Most of these seats are those where the MLA is not from AAP currently,” Rai said.
Brahma Singh Tanwar will contest from Chhatarpur, Anil Jha will be AAP candidate from Kiradi. Deepak Singhla will contest in Vishwas Nagar and Sarita Singh in Rohtas Nagar. BB Tyagi has been named AAP candidate in Laxmi Nagar and Ram Singh Netaji in Badarpur.
Zubair Chaudhary will be AAP’s candidate from Seelampur and Veer Singh Dhingan will contest in Seemapuri. Gaurav Sharma will contest in Ghonda and Manoj Tyagi has been picked as candidate in Karawal Nagar. Somesh Shaukeen will be AAP’s candidate from Matiala.
Both Tanwar and Jha are former BJP legislators and switched to the AAP this year, BB Tyagi, too, is a former BJP leader and a two-time councillor of Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Deepak Singhla is a senior party leader who lost to the BJP’s Om Prakash Sharma in Vishwas Nagar last time.
Sarita Singh heads the AAP’s student wing, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, and a former MLA from Rohtas Nagar.Ram Singh Netaji is a two-time MLA from Badarpur and Zubair Chaudhary is the son of five-time Seelampur MLA and Congress leader Mateen Ahmed. Veer Singh Dhingan, earlier with the Congress, is a three-time MLA from Seemapuri. Gaurav Sharma is AAP’s national joint secretary for organisation building and Manoj Tyagi is a former councillor. Somesh Shaukeen, too, is a former Congress MLA who switched to the AAP this year.
The last Delhi Assembly elections were held in February 2020, where the AAP won a decisive victory, securing 62 out of 70 seats. The BJP managed only 8 seats, and Congress failed to open its account. Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister.
However, Kejriwal’s tenure faced major challenges. In March 2024, he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering investigation related to the cancelled Delhi excise policy. He was later arrested by the CBI in June 2024, making him the first sitting CM to be arrested. Kejriwal’s legal battle continued until September, when the Supreme Court granted him bail after his plea was supported by the Delhi High Court.
