Perceived anti-incumbency has forced the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to drop about 30% of its current MLAs for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, but a dozen of its leaders have remained with the party since its inception in 2013. has been retained and will contest the fourth consecutive election.
A senior AAP leader, requesting anonymity, said it was natural for any party to face anti-incumbency after being in power for three consecutive terms and candidates nominated for the fourth time cleared the polls showing a positive response for them.
AAP Delhi coordinator and Babarpur MLA Gopal Rai is among those retained. “I am grateful to the party for trusting me for the fourth time in a row,” he told The Indian Express. “My constituency is in North East Delhi, which is densely populated and needs development. We have already started many development works and some are in the pipeline. AAP always seeks votes based on its work. I hope people will elect me this time too.”
Apart from Rai and Kejriwal. Other leaders who are trying their luck from their seat for the fourth time are Saurabh Bhardwaj (Greater Kailash), Somnath Bharti (Malaviya Nagar), Imran Hussain (Ballimaran), Satyendra Jain (Shakur Basti), Jarnel Singh (Tilak Nagar). , Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Special Ravi (Karol Bagh), Dinesh Mohania (Sangam Vihar), and Sanjeev Jha (Burari). In the 2020 election, Jha won by the largest margin of over 88,000 votes.
Sisodia and Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla have also been retained, but their seats have been changed. Sisodia has been shifted from Patpadganj to Jangpura while Birla is contesting from Madipur instead of his home ground of Mangolpuri.
AAP leaders said the party launched its response survey in September, after Kejriwal’s arrest in the alleged excise policy scam. “Response was collected from the booths while door-to-door surveys were conducted to gauge the leader’s popularity. It helped us assess what the leaders have done in their respective fields, the winning ability and the relationship of the leaders with the people,” said a leader.
While another party leader also said sitting MLAs were removed or their seats changed entirely on the basis of “anti-incumbency checks”, sources said the party also blamed the popularity of leaders within the party, their connections with senior leaders and volunteers. Visibility in events and protests especially after Kejriwal’s arrest. “Leaders’ social media presence, vote share and winning margin in the last three elections were also factors,” the source said.
Aam Aadmi Party has announced candidates for all 70 seats in Delhi, while Congress has announced 21 candidates. The BJP is yet to announce its candidates for the elections due early next year.
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