Putting an end to speculations, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday clarified that he was not going to Rajya Sabha and that the party will decide on an appropriate candidate soon.
His statement comes after party MP Sanjeev Arora clinched victory in Ludhiana West assembly seat in Punjab.
Responding to a question about the party’s candidate for Rajya Sabha seat that will become vacant after Arora’s victory, Kejriwal said, “Many times I have been sent to the Rajya Sabha. I want to tell you I am not going to the Rajya Sabha. The political affairs committee of the party will decide whom to nominate.”
Addressing his press conference after a setback in Delhi Assembly elections, Kejriwal said that the victory of the party on two seats, Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab prove that people accept the AAP’s model of governance.
Notably in Visavadar constituency AAP’s Gopal Italia defeated BJP’s Kirit Patel by a margin of 17,554 votes while Congress’ Bharat Bhushan Ashu lost to Sanjeev Arora with a margin of 10,637 votes.
“We have won with almost double the margin by which we won in 2022. This shows that we are doing good work in Punjab. Some people are saying this is a semi-final to 2027 — there will be a storm of AAP in 2027,” he added.
Both Gujarat and Punjab assembly elections are scheduled in 2027.
Criticising the Congress, Kejriwal alleged that the party was working hand-in-glove with the BJP. “These bypolls showed how Congress leadership helped BJP just to defeat AAP. Congress has become the puppet of BJP. I request Congress workers to realise this and join AAP,” he said.