Delhi Assembly elections: AAP releases first list of 11 candidates

Six leaders from the BJP and Congress, who had recently switched to the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, figured in the list

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released first list of 11 candidates for the assembly elections in Delhi, which are expected to be held in early 2025.

The party named candidates for constituencies including Chhatarpur, Kiradi, Vishwas Nagar, Rohtash Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Badarpur, Seelampur, Seemapuri, Ghonda, Karawal Nagar and Matiala seats.

A meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party was held earlier in the day at the residence of the party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to finalise the first list.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and minister and party leader Gopal Rai were also present at the meeting.

As per the list, Brahm Singh Tanwar will contest elections from Chhatarpur, Anil Jha from Kiradi, Deepak Singla from Vishwas Nagar, Sarita Singh from Rohtash Nagar, BB Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar, Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur, Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad from Seelampur, Veer Singh Dhingan from Seemapuri, Gaurav Sharma from Ghonda, Manoj Tyagi from Karawal Nagar and Sumesh Shokeen from Matiala on the AAP ticket.

BJP turncoats Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha and BB Tyagi and Congress defectors Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad, Veer Singh Dhinghan and Sumesh Shokeen were given tickets by AAP.

The party has denied tickets to three sitting MLAs namely Gulab Singh Yadav from Matiala, Rituraj Jha from Kiradi and Abdul Rehman from Seelampur.

AAP MLA from Chhatarpur constituency, Kartar Singh Tanwar, who recently joined the BJP, was disqualified as an MLA.

Assembly elections in Delhi are likely to be held in early 2025. However, the Election Commission is yet to announce the dates. The last Assembly elections in Delhi were held in February 2015.

In the 2015 assembly polls, the AAP secured an absolute majority and won 62 seats out of 70. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win just 8 seats while Congress struggled to open their account.

Following the win, the Aam Aadmi Party formed the state government, with Arvind Kejriwal becoming Chief Minister.