AAP releases full list of 70 candidates for Delhi Assembly polls, drops 15 sitting MLAs, brings in 6 new faces; Arvind Kejriwal to contest from New Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday released the full list of 70 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly election, in which the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will seek a second consecutive term. The National Capital is likely to see a three-cornered fight between the ruling AAP, the Congress, and BJP. Incumbent chief minister Arvind Kejriwal set to contest the polls from the New Delhi seat and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is contesting from the Patparganj seat. After the list was released, Kejriwal tweeted, “Best wishes to all. Don’t be complacent. Work very hard.” Sisodia, speaking to the media, said, “Last time six women were given tickets by AAP, this time eight women have been given tickets.

Best wishes to all. Don’t be complacent. Work v hard. People have lot of faith in AAP and u. God bless. https://t.co/JuuvriCoNG

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 14, 2020

According to the list released by the party’s Political Affairs Committee, AAP leader Atishi will contest from the Kalkaji constituency, while another party leader Dilip Pandey will contest the Timarpur seat. Both had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Additionally, Satyendra Jain will contest from Shakur Basti, Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar, SK Bagga from Krishna Nagar, and Jitendra Tomar from Tri Nagar seats.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) releases the list of candidates for #DelhiElections2020. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to contest from New Delhi, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to contest from Patparganj. pic.twitter.com/Blkm5JX2tD

— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2020

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Reports also said that while AAP has fielded sitting MLAs in 46 of the 67 seats it had won in the 2015 polls, at least 15 incumbent legislators have been denied a ticket. Meanwhile, new faces have been given a ticket for six seats. Delhi will go to polls on 8 February and the counting of votes will take place on 11 February. The Model Code of Conduct is in place. Soon after the poll dates were announced by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on 6 January, Kejriwal said that the 2020 Assembly election will be based on “development”

ये चुनाव काम पर होगा

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 6, 2020

During a press conference, he appealed to the people of Delhi to “vote for us (AAP) only if you think we have done good work in the last five years”. He added, “We will run a positive campaign, will not abuse anyone.” In the party’s manifesto which is likely to be launched at the end of this week, AAP is likely to focus on key components like “building a robust public transport infrastructure, redesigning of roads, cleanliness, drinking water and single-window clearances of projects,” a _Firstpost_ report noted . “The poor condition of roads at many places inside the city and in the outskirts, unplanned and erratic movement of vehicles, and illegal parking have always led to severe traffic congestion in Delhi, causing loss of productive man-hours. Route rationalisation for smooth movement of buses, improving super-trunk routes that connect long distances, and last-mile connectivity are on the cards,” the report said. Additionally, a renewed focus on cleanliness — including solid waste management, getting rid of landfills, and cleaning the Yamuna — along with ways to provide drinking water, are issues that are likely to be added to the AAP manifesto. With inputs from agencies