In a massive development, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday dropped a massive hint that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the Lok Sabha Elections in the state alone. CM Mann addressing a press conference stated that there will be '13-0 in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab after the Lok Sabha Election 2024'. Notably, reports suggest that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the Lok Sabha elections alone on all the 13 seats of Punjab. AAP has made complete preparations internally for this. A list of 40 names has also been prepared for 13 Lok Sabha seats. On some seats, there are 2 options and on others, there are 4 options. Interestingly, hours before AAP's decision to fight Lok Sabha Polls in Punjab alone, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had also announced that her party would contest the election by itself and not share seats with the Congress or INDIA alliance.
As per reports, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal has given the green signal to this decision in a meeting held in Delhi a few days ago. In this meeting, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, and many senior leaders were present. Reports further suggest that AAP will present this decision in the meeting of I.N.D.I.A., an alliance of opposition parties.
As per reports, Aam Aadmi Party has selected 3 candidates from each seat. Now the party will conduct its survey regarding these candidates. Also, the candidates who are liked by the people will be given tickets. Furthermore, the state government may ask senior party leaders, including some ministers, to contest the parliamentary elections. Also, youth and women will be given importance in the elections. However, the ticket of Sushil Rinku, who left Congress and became AAP's Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar, is considered confirmed.
It is pertinent to mention here that many Congress leaders were in favor of fighting the polls alone. However, it was Navjot Singh Sidhu who supported the idea of fighting look sabha polls by joining hands with AAP.