AAP to review Lok Sabha election preparations

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will Thursday review preparations for the coming Lok Sabha polls and also discuss the controversies involving some of its leading members.

"(We) will review the preparations for the Lok Sabha election and discuss the number of seats to be contested," a party statement said.

"Discussions will also be held on various controversies in the past one month including (those involving) Law Minister Somnath Bharti and expelled (legislator) Vinod Kumar Binny," it said.

Bharti courted controversy over his post-midnight campaign against an alleged sex-and-drugs ring in a south Delhi neighbourhood allegedly involving some Africans, leading to a face-off with Delhi Police.

Binny, who represents Laxmi Nagar in the Delhi assembly, has been expelled from the party after revolting against Kejriwal and the AAP.

Since its dizzying success in the Delhi elections, the AAP has said it plans to contest a large number of Lok Sabha seats whose number could vary between 300 and 400.

In some Lok Sabha constituencies, the party has already begun campaigning. The AAP is also accepting applications for candidature in the general elections, widely expected to be held in April-May.

AAP leader Gopal Rai said there would also be a two-day orientation programme starting Thursday for its legislators. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate it.

"(This) has been organised because most legislators are first time members," Rai told the media.

Since it took power in Delhi Dec 28, Kejriwal and his colleagues have courted a number of controversies.

One involves the chief minister himself after he went on a protest against Delhi Police in the heart of the national capital, calling it off only after spending a night under the sky.