Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh/New Delhi
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will release its first list of candidates for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections tomorrow at 12 noon. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced this while speaking to reporters in Delhi.
The party had organised a meeting in Delhi to discuss and finalise the names of potential candidates. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also attended the meeting.
According to party sources, another meeting will be held in Delhi tomorrow, following which the first list of candidates will be made public.
The AAP is reportedly planning to announce its candidates before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force, while the party is still in power. The strategy is aimed at giving candidates sufficient time to begin working in their respective constituencies and strengthen their ground-level presence before the election schedule is announced.
The party has not yet disclosed how many candidates will feature in the first list. However, political observers believe that sitting MLAs and constituency in-charges who are not facing significant opposition within the party could find a place in the initial list.
The first list is expected to include around 20 names. There is also speculation that the party could deny tickets to 30-40 sitting MLAs. The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) is expected to give its final approval during tomorrow's meeting.
AAP has already started working on its election strategy in Punjab. The party's organisational strengthening efforts gained momentum after Manish Sisodia was appointed as the party's in-charge for Punjab following the Delhi Assembly elections.
Since then, the party has made several organisational changes, including appointments at the constituency level, as part of its efforts to strengthen its grassroots network ahead of the polls.
