Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and AAP leader Raghav Chadha
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, IIT Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the March 31 Rajya Sabha polls. All the five nominees filed their nomination papers at the Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh.
Elections to fill 13 Rajya Sabha seats across six states falling vacant in April are scheduled to be held on March 31. MPs from Assam (two), Himachal (one), Kerala (three), Nagaland (one) and Tripura (one) are retiring on April 2, while five members from Punjab are retiring on April 9.
The five Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab are Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Shiromani Akali Dal), Partap Singh Bajwa (Congress), Shwait Malik (BJP), Naresh Gujral (SAD) and Shamsher Singh Dullo (Congress). All the five Punjab seats will go to the Aam Aadmi Party which swept the elections winning 92 of the 117 seats in the Assembly. The party formed its government in Punjab, the first state outside Delhi, under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann.
Punjab has seven Rajya Sabha seats. The term of Balwinder Singh Bhunder (SAD), Ambika Soni (Congress) will end on July 4. Polls to these two seats would be held later. The AAP is in a comfortable position to win these two seats as well.
The AAP has already three Members in Rajya Sabha, all from Delhi. Its strength will increase to 8 after the upcoming polls.
