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," Arora said in a post on X.
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 Kejriwal or former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia would replace Arora.
"AAP has nominated Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora as party candidate from Ludhiana West. Now, he will resign as MP and, in his place, Arvind Kejriwal or Manish Sisodia will be made a Rajya Sabha member," he said.
"Once again, Punjab has been made to surrender before Delhi. Punjab is paying the price but Bhagwant Mann is unfazed… He is least bothered about Punjab and Punjabis," he added in a post on X.
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.
AAP has seven members in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab -- Pathak, Raghav Chadha, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal, environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal and industrialist Vikramjit Singh.
