The date for filing nominations for the Rajya Sabha seats began from Friday, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are still in a dilemma on who to pitch for as their candidates. Party sources said that they are considering mixing their candidates between senior party leaders and representatives from outsiders.
‘May have a mix’
Senior leaders from the party said that the AAP, which has three seats to offer for the Upper House, will have their political affairs committee (PAC) meeting on January 3 in which final names of nominations will be decided.
“There was a strong opinion within the party that to curb competition and ill feeling among leaders, our choice should be from visionaries who have excelled in their fields. There was, however, another opinion that party leaders should get representation for their work. Thus, we might have a mix of outsiders and party leaders in our nominations,” a senior party leader said.
The party had approached several renowned names such as former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan, former Delhi Metro managing director E. Sreedharan, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyathi and geneticist M.S. Swaminathan,” he said.
“However, none of these people have formally agreed to represent the party in the Upper House. From within the party, senior leaders Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh are frontrunners for the seats,” he added. “The final announcement will be made after the PAC meeting,” the leader said.
The party has been facing flak from a section from within the party for not being interested in pitching for senior leader and founder Kumar Vishwas.
The poet-turned-politician had expressed his ambition to represent the AAP in the Upper House.
