AAP’s ship is sinking : Sachdeva,Delhi BJP chief

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday released its second list of 20 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, dropping 18 sitting MLAs and moving two others, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, to new seats.

Sisodia will now contest from Jangpura, while Avadh Ojha, an educator and recent AAP entrant, will fight from Sisodia’s current Patparganj seat. “Politics for me is a means to education, honesty, and public welfare. I am ready to replicate the work done in Patparganj in Jangpura,” Sisodia said.

Commenting on Sisodia moving to a different seat, Delhi minister Gopal Rai said, “Manish Sisodia is capable of winning anywhere in Delhi.” Another MLA in the second list is Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, but she has been shifted from Mangolpuri to Madipur, with Rakesh Jatav Dharamrakshak contesting from her current seat. Madipur MLA Girish Soni has been dropped.

Narela MLA Sharad Kumar Chauhan has been replaced by Dinesh Bharadwaj, while Timarpur MLA and the party’s chief whip in the assembly, Dilip K Pandey, has been replaced by Surendra Pal Singh Bittu. Mukesh Goel, the leader of the house in the MCD, has been fielded from Adarsh Nagar, replacing Pawan Sharma.

In Mundka, Dharampal Lakhra has been replaced by Jasbir Karala. Pradeep Mittal has been fielded from Rohini, a constituency the AAP lost to the BJP’s Vijender Gupta in 2020. Other notable changes include Punardeep Sawhney, who replaces his father and MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney from Chandni Chowk, and Parvesh Ratan, who will contest from Patel Nagar after former Delhi minister Raaj Kumar Anand switched over to the BJP.