AAP might field Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk to replace sitting MLA Alka Lamba

PTI, Aug 11, 2019, 12:38 PM IST

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party might field its Lok Sabha candidate Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk in the next assembly elections, sources said.

Gupta might replace Alka Lamba, who last Sunday said she has decided to resign from the primary membership of the party and will contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls as an independent candidate.

The AAP said it is ready to accept her resignation even on Twitter. The party alleged that Lamba has been neglecting her constituency as she is always “busy in foreign tours and vacations”.

According to sources, the party is looking for replacement for Lamba and have zeroed on Gupta.

However, no official confirmation was given either by the party or Gupta in the matter.

The AAP suffered a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and lost on all seven seats in Delhi. Gupta got 1.44 lakh of the cumulative 9.8 lakh votes and lost his security deposit in the Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, Gupta has been asked to start preparing for contesting the polls.

Moreover, the party is also looking for suitable candidates from Karawal Nagar, Bijwasan and Gandhi Nagar whose MLAs – Kapil Mishra, Anil Kumar Bajpai and Devender Sehrawat have were disqualified.

According to sources, BJP leader from Bijwasan Assembly, Kishan Kumar Sehrawat is being considered for replacing Devender while party member Durgesh Pathak might replace Mishra.

The AAP has already started assessment of its MLAs for the upcoming polls. The leader they have hired a start-up to evaluate the performance of the MLAs and give its report to the top leadership.

He, however, did not give details of the start-up hired.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal last month chaired a meeting of party MLAs to review Aapka Vidhayak Aapke Dwar’, a public outreach programme launched after the party lost the Lok Sabha election in Delhi.

Under the programme, MLAs interact with the public to know about their problems.

A senior party leader said the programme was launched after an analysis of the Lok Sabha election failure showed that the party needed more work at the ground level.

The second phase of the programme has also been launched under which the MLAs would increase their outreach with people of their assemblies.

Assembly polls in Delhi are expected to be held in February next year.