The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Political Affairs Committee has decided to re-nominate Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta to the Rajya Sabha once their term expires this month.
In a first, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal, who has been working closely with party chief Arvind Kejriwal since his days as an activist, will replace RS member Sushil Gupta.
The current terms of AAP MPs Sanjay Singh, ND Gupta and Sushil Gupta from Delhi will come to an end on January 27 and that of Hishey Lachungpa from Sikkim will end on February 23. The AAP, which won 62 of 70 seats in 2020, will send three members to the Rajya Sabha.
On Friday, a Delhi court allowed jailed RS member Singh to file his nomination papers from behind bars.
According to sources, his berth was confirmed recently even though indications that he would get a second term were given to him before he was jailed.
Arrested on October 4 after a marathon raid by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate the same day, Singh was subsequently named by the ED in its charge sheet in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise scam and denied bail by a Delhi court.
One of AAP’s most aggressive speakers both within the House and outside, Singh has managed to carve a political space for himself. Hailing from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Singh is the go-to person for the AAP when it is fighting internal challenges as well as negotiating with other political parties.
During the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Singh was suspended for the entire session by RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar who said the former was repeatedly violating the directions of the House.
Singh, along with other opposition MPs, was demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement on the Manipur issue on the floor of the House and he walked into the Well of the House, raising slogans. When the suspended MP sat in protest inside the Parliament premises, he attracted support from several leaders, including Congress’s Sonia Gandhi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and TMC MP Derek O’Brien among others.
The AAP has consistently blamed the ‘vindictiveness’ of the Modi government for holding its five leaders behind bars — Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Vijay Nair and Gujarat MLA Chaitar Vasava.
SWATI MALIWAL
In 2015, Maliwal was appointed as the chairperson of the Delhi Women’s Commission. She has been fairly proactive when it comes to championing the rights of women, addressing grievances and providing a platform to ensure justice. Interestingly, Maliwal has not confined herself to just Delhi. She was quick to reach violence-torn Manipur and provided a shoulder to women who were gravely affected in the conflict.
In her eight-year tenure, Maliwal and her team handled approximately 1,70,000 complaints. She is now set to be the only woman MP from AAP in Parliament.
ND GUPTA
A chartered accountant by profession, ND Gupta is also the treasurer of the AAP. He too was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the alleged Delhi Excise Policy Scam.
RS member Sushil Gupta, the only one among the three who was not re-nominated, has been busy with efforts to expand the party’s footprint in Haryana and will continue to do so.
The last date for filing RS nominations is January 9. Scrutiny of nominations is on January 10 while the last date for withdrawal of candidates is January 12. The date of polling is January 19 and results will be declared on January 23.
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