The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated Delhi MLA Raghav Chadha, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, IIT professor Sandeep Pathak and Lovely Professional University founder and Chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
News agency ANI also reported that the party will nominate founder of Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Care Charitable Trust, Sanjiv Arora for the Upper House elections.
Polls to fill 13 Rajya Sabha seats across six states falling vacant in April, including those of Congress veterans AK Antony and Anand Sharma, are scheduled to be held on March 31. From Punjab, five Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant on April 9 and names have to be submitted today.
AAP registered a landslide victory in the recently concluded Punjab Assembly polls, winning 92 of the 117 seats. After the Rajya Sabha polls, AAP’s strength in the Upper House is set to increase from three to eight.
Harbhajan Singh had met former Punjab Congress chief chief Navjot Singh Sidhu before the elections, fuelling speculations about his possible debut in politics. However, he was reportedly denied ticket by the latter.
On the other hand, Pathak is believed to be a close confidant of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He is said to have played an instrumental role in AAP’s victory in Punjab.
Chadha was party’s poll in-charge in Punjab and led the party’s campaign in the state from the front. Ashok Kumar Mittal is the founder of Lovely Professional University, and is described by the party as a renowned academician and social activist.
There are 13 Rajya Sabha seats to which elections will be held on March 31. Of the 13 seats, Punjab lawmakers will vote for five MPs, three will be elected from Kerala, two from Assam, and one each from Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Tripura.