Just two days after resigning from the Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has turned its attention on the upcoming general elections.
Finalising 20 seats as part of its first list of candidates for Lok Sabha, the party announced that former journalist and AAP spokesperson Ashutosh will contest against Union Minister Kapil Sibal from the Chandi Chowk seat in Delhi.
The party’s Mukul Tripathi will take on Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid from the Farrukhabad seat while senior advocate HS Phoolka will contest from Ludhiana against Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari.
Activist Medha Patkar will make her electoral debut when she contests from Mumbai (North East) while senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav will contest from Gurgaon.
Announcing the list after a meeting of the party’s Political Affair Committee (PAC), AAP’s Manish Sisodia said Anjali Damania will contest against former BJP president Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur. Kumar Vishwas has been confirmed as the party’s candidate against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
“I have got a big responsibility. Earlier I thought I wouldn’t fight Lok Sabha or Assembly polls. We need to fight one-to-one against corruption. Arvind Kejriwal has said the same thing to me. I will fight to my fullest,” said Ms Damania after the announcement.
The Lok Sabha elections, due by May, has for months been seen as a direct contest between BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Congress Number Two Rahul Gandhi, though the latter has not been officially named as his party’s prime ministerial candidate.
After Mr. Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party made its spectacular debut in Delhi Assembly elections last December, many now see a triangular battle this year. The AAP has said it will contest at least a whopping 350 seats and is pitching its chief, Mr. Kejriwal as its candidate for the top post.
