NEW DELHI: AAP’s surprise announcement on Wednesday that Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora would contest the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll sparked speculation whether a path was being cleared for Arvind Kejriwal’s entry into the upper House but the party made it clear that its national convener would not be the RS nominee. After AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak announced Arora’s candidature, the latter said on X, “Humbled and grateful to the leadership of AAP for reposing faith in me to contest the Ludhiana West by-election. As someone deeply connected to my hometown, I look forward to serving my people with dedication and sincerity.”
On speculation that Kejriwal may go to Rajya Sabha, Arora told TOI, “Kejriwal ji has no interest in coming to Rajya Sabha and if at all he had a wish to come to the upper House, any of the sitting MPs of AAP would have given up their seat to make way for him. He does not have to wait for the outcome of an assembly bypoll.” An industrialist from Ludhiana, Arora was elected to RS in 2022. AAP’s chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar too dismissed the Kejriwal-for-RS speculation and said, “As far as Arvind Kejriwal is concerned, media sources were earlier saying he will become the chief minister of Punjab. Now, they are saying he will go to Rajya Sabha. Both these sources are absolutely wrong. Arvind Kejriwal is not going to Rajya Sabha.”
The assertions did not stop BJP and Congress from attacking AAP. Leader of opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa accused AAP of preparing the ground for another non-Punjabi to enter RS from Punjab. BJP national secretary and Delhi’s food supply and industry minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa added, “Punjabis will never allow the AAP convener’s dream to become a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab to be fulfilled.” He accused Kejriwal of being “a power-hungry person who cannot live without power”.
The Ludhiana West seat fell vacant after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi on Jan 10 due to an “accidental gunshot injury” at his house. The bypoll to elect an MLA from the vacant seat has to be held within six months.
After the Delhi poll results, when Kejriwal called Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and MLAs from the state to Delhi, opposition parties had called it preparation for Mann’s removal from the top post. However, after the meeting, Mann dismissed claims of unrest among AAP MLAs, tamping down speculation that the ripples from AAP’s Delhi debacle may pose risk to his govt.