No tickets to sitting MLAs shows AAP's lack of confidence: Delhi BJP chief

As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) denied tickets to three of its sitting MLAs in the first list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Thursday called the move a "lack of confidence."

AAP released its first list of 11 candidates for the Delhi assembly elections, expected to be held in early 2025.

"...AAP is a party with two chief ministers, various ministers, and associates who have looted Delhi for the past 10 years. There is a lack of confidence within the AAP. They are cutting tickets for a majority of their sitting MLAs, which has been proven in today's list. There is a spark of rebellion in the list, and its impact will be evident in the coming days," said Sachdeva.

The list includes candidates for constituencies such as Chhatarpur, Kirari, Vishwas Nagar, Rohtash Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Badarpur, Seelampur, Seemapuri, Ghonda, Karawal Nagar, and Matiala.

A meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) was held earlier in the day at the residence of AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to finalise the list. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and senior party leader Gopal Rai were present at the meeting.

As per the list, Brahm Singh Tanwar will contest from Chhatarpur, Anil Jha from Kirari, 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 AAP tickets.

The list also features BJP turncoats Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha, and BB Tyagi, as well as Congress defectors Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad, Veer Singh Dhingan, and Sumesh Shokeen.

Meanwhile, AAP has denied tickets to three sitting MLAs: Gulab Singh Yadav from Matiala, Rituraj Jha from Kirari, and Abdul Rehman from Seelampur. Kartar Singh Tanwar, the AAP MLA from Chhatarpur who recently joined the BJP, was disqualified as an MLA.

Assembly elections in Delhi are likely to be held in early 2025, though the Election Commission has yet to announce the dates. The last assembly elections in Delhi took place in February 2020.

In the 2020 assembly polls, the AAP secured a landslide victory, winning 62 out of 70 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 8 seats, while the Congress failed to win a single seat. Following the victory, AAP formed the state government with Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister.