The ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) decision to nominate sitting Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as its candidate for the Ludhiana (West) Assembly byelection on Tuesday (February 25, 2025) gave the Opposition parties in Punjab ammunition to target the AAP.
As the speculation is rife that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal is all set to enter the Upper House of Parliament via Punjab, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress cornered the AAP in Punjab.
The Ludhiana (West) Assembly seat fell vacant last month after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi. Even as the bye-election date is yet to be announced, the declaration of candidate by the AAP has shocked the Opposition. Mr. Arora, who is a Ludhiana-based industrialist, has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2022.
Also Read | AAP denies speculations of Arvind Kejriwal moving to Rajya Sabha
Hitting out at the AAP, Union Minister of State for Railway and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu posted on ‘X’, “Why is AAP’s sitting Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora suddenly contesting the Ludhiana West bypoll? Is Arvind Kejriwal plotting his own Rajya Sabha entry? Is he desperate for a government bungalow in Delhi? The man will go to any extent to maintain his dictatorship. Greed has no limits!”
Senior SAD leader and former Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said Mr. Arora has been nominated as the party candidate from the Ludhiana West constituency solely to pave the way for Mr. Kejriwal’s entry into the Rajya Sabha. Pointing out that for the past three years Punjab was being run through remote control by the AAP ‘high command’ in Delhi, Mr. Majithia said “the AAP convener was now seeking a nomination to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab.”
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring told mediapersons: “It’s no more a speculation, but confirmed now that Mr. Kejriwal is preparing and would go to Rajya Sabha from Punjab.”
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said Mr. Kejriwal was attempting a back-door entry into the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, which was condemnable.
