To ensure that the ‘most suitable’ candidate is fielded in the upcoming lok Sabha polls, the Aam Aadmi Party has put in place a tough and comprehensive selection procedure to shortlist its candidates with focus in States like Delhi, UP, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
A committee in each of the 28 States and Union Territories across the country has been set up to scrutinise the application forms submitted by the aspirants. These committees will collect feedback from the public and based on its opinion the applicants will be shortlisted for another round of scrutiny.
If qualifying for the Delhi Assembly elections was tough, aspirants aiming for the lok Sabha polls will have to brace for even a tougher selection procedure in the AAP. The two-day national executive meeting which was chaired by party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has come up with a multi-level selection system. In the first stage, the forms submitted by the aspirants will be thoroughly scrutinised by the State-level committee.
These committees will then make all the names public and seek people’s opinion about each applicant. After verifying all details and receiving feedback, the committee will place its opinion on the form and forward it to the party’s Political Advisory Committee (PAC). In the third and final stage, the PAC which comprises nine members including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Yogendra Yadav, Sanjay Singh, Pankaj Gupta, Gopal Rai, among others will take a final call on the shortlisted candidates.
“To ensure that only good and honest candidates contest elections, the State committees will first check all the forms. On policy level, 31 committees have been set up by the party so far. Public opinion on the applicants will then be sought and those applications which get selected will be sent to the PAC which will declare the final list,” said senior party leader Yogendra Yadav. The 12-page nomination form asks interested persons to furnish details of immediate family members, sources of income, criminal record, educational details, political connection and affiliation to other organizations. Anyone who has no criminal record or has no charges against him/her can file the nomination which will remain open till January 15. Raising the bar further, the party has asked every aspirant to collect 100 signatures of supporters for each Assembly segment of a lok Sabha seat.
According to sources, along with Delhi, AAP is looking at the States of Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat among others to build a strong support system for the national elections, due by May. While the AAP is expected to field candidates in at least 22 States, States such as Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and the North-East States might not see AAP faces in the lok Sabha polls.
Amongst the big faces the party plans to field, reportedly, are AAP functionary Mayank Gandhi from Maharashtra and Sanjay Singh from Uttar Pradesh while senior party leader Yogendra Yadav is likely to be its chief ministerial candidate in the assembly elections in Haryana later this year which could also be preponed to make it with the lok Sabha elections.