AAP Announces DCW Chief Swati Maliwal As Rajya Sabha Candidate

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday fielded Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal as its Rajya Sabha candidate and renominated Sanjay Singh and Narain Dass Gupta for a second term in the Upper House of Parliament.

The nominations were announced by the party's political affairs committee (PAC), chaired by AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The six-year term of Sanjay Singh, Sushil Kumar Gupta and Narain Dass Gupta ends on January 27. "DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal has been nominated for the first time. The PAC has decided to continue with Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta for their respective second term as Rajya Sabha members," the party said.

The committee decided to endorse two existing members for re-nomination, whereas Sushil Kumar Gupta expressed his intent to redirect his focus towards the electoral politics of Haryana, it said.

"Sushil Gupta has conveyed his aspiration to actively engage in the vibrant electoral landscape of Haryana, and we respect his decision to pursue this path," a senior AAP leader said. Sushil Gupta is the state president of the Haryana unit of AAP. On December 31, while addressing the party workers virtually, Kejriwal had said that the party will contest the upcoming Haryana legislative assembly elections with "full strength" to form the next government in the state.

The election, if necessary, to fill up the three vacancies will be held on January 19 (Friday). The last date for filing nominations is January 9 while the scrutiny of nominations will take place on January 10. The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is January 12. Maliwal, who tendered her resignation as DCW chief, is also an active advocate for women's rights and social issues. She has been associated with various campaigns and movements aimed at combating violence against women, advocating for stricter laws, and promoting gender equality.

According to officials, her resignation has been forwarded to Kejriwal. Names of several probables including DCW member Vandana Singh, former DCPCR member Abhinandita Mathur, AAP national chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, Aswathi Muralidharan were doing the rounds as Maliwal's replacement. In 2015, Maliwal was appointed as the chairperson of the DCW, where she has been instrumental in spearheading initiatives to address issues such as acid attacks, sexual harassment, and women's safety in Delhi. Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj congratulated Maliwal on her nomination and said that she has done good work as DCW chief. When asked about Singh's renomination, he said the party was proud of him.

"Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain are those leaders who did not bow down before BJP. Mukul Roy, Narayan Rane, Ajit Pawar, who were called corrupt and were facing CBI, ED inquiries came in support of BJP. Had he (Singh) been scared he would have also gone towards the BJP. We are proud of them," he added.

A court here has allowed Singh, who is in jail in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to sign forms and documents for his Rajya Sabha renomination. Special Judge M K Nagpal passed the order on an application filed by the AAP leader, who submitted that his present term as a member of the Rajya Sabha is expiring on January 27 and the returning officer has issued a notice on January 2 for the conduct of the election and nominations for the same are to be submitted by January 9.

The application sought a direction to the Tihar Jail Superintendent to allow Singh to sign the documents. He has been under suspension from the Rajya Sabha since July 24 last year for unruly behaviour in the House.