NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party released its second list of 20 candidates on Monday for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, dropping 16 sitting MLAs and moving two others - former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and deputy speaker Rakhi Bidlan - to new seats.
Sisodia, who ranked second in the party hierarchy and held the seat thrice, was shifted from his Patparganj constituency to Jangpura. Civil services coaching teacher, popular on social media as a motivational speaker, Avadh Ojha, who joined AAP last week, will now contest from Patparganj.
Bidlan has been shifted to Madipur instead of her current Mangolpuri seat, which went to Rakesh Jatav Dharamrakshak. From two seats, Krishna Nagar and Chandni Chowk, the baton has passed to sons, with incumbent MLA S K Bagga's son Vikas from the former and Prahlad Sawhney's son Punardeep being given tickets. Since 2013, AAP has governed Delhi and is now seeking a fourth term in February. The party's previous landslide victories, securing 67 seats in 2015 and 62 seats in 2020, stand in contrast to the current situation. Party insiders indicate that anti-incumbency sentiment has emerged, resulting in several sitting legislators being denied tickets for re-election.
After the names were finalised by the party's national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, in a political affairs committee meeting, AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai said, "We are confident that AAP's election campaign will now progress with more strength, and we will form govt under Arvind Kejriwal with people's support."
The list also includes the names of former MLAs Jitender Singh Shunty (fielded from Shahdara) and Surendra Pal Singh Bittu (Timarpur), who recently quit BJP to join AAP. Shunty replaced Vidhan Sabha Speaker Ram Niwas Goel from Shahdara, who last week retired from active politics. AAP awarded a ticket to Bittu, replacing incumbent MLA Dilip Pandey. Pandey, a veteran AAP member since the days of Anna Hazare's movement.
A senior party functionary said that the reason the party came up with two lists early is because it wants to give time to candidates to prepare for their constituencies. "Most candidates are new to their constituencies, so giving them time will help them form a strategy in a better way," said a party functionary.

From Deoli assembly constituency, the party dropped sitting MLA Prakash Jarwal, who was convicted of abetting the suicide of a 52-yearold doctor in 2020. The party chose councillor Prem Singh Chauhan.
The names of the 20 candidates announced are Avadh Ojha (Patparganj), Dinesh Bharadwaj (Narela), Surendra Pal Singh Bittu (Timarpur), Mukesh Goel (Adarsh Nagar), Jasbir Kalra (Mund ka), Rakesh Jatav (Mangolpuri), Pradeep Mittal (Rohini), Punardeep Singh Sawhney (Chandni Chowk), Parvesh Ratan (Patel Nagar), Pravin Kumar (Janakpuri), Surender Bharadwaj (Bijwasan), Joginder Solanki (Palam), Prem Kumar Chauhan (Deoli), Anjana Parcha (Trilokpuri), Vikas Bagga (Krishna Nagar), Naveen Chaudhary (Gandhi Nagar), Jitender Singh Shunty (Shahdara), and Adil Ahmad Khan (Mustafabad).
Six sitting councillors have been given tickets — Dinesh Bhardwaj, Mukesh Goel, Rakesh Jatav, Punardeep Singh Sawhney, Pravin Kumar and Prem Kumar Chauhan from Dakshinpuri. Goel is currently leader of the House in MCD. During the 2020 assembly elections, he contested as a Congress candidate but finished in third place.