AAP To Declare First List Of Punjab Poll Candidates In April

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit the state next week during which he is expected to look into the matter.

New Delhi: AAP is likely to declare its first list of candidates for Punjab Assembly polls in by April end and the chief ministerial by June-July this year, party sources said on Saturday.

Party sources said candidates are being currently scanned across all the 117 Assembly seats and they could be declared almost a year before the state goes to polls.

“The first list of candidates is likely to be out in the last week of April and we are working towards it,” a senior party leader said.

When asked about the Chief Ministerial candidate, the leader said, “It may be declared by June-July.”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit the state next week during which he is expected to look into the matter.

With a groundswell support, the advance declaration of candidates is similar to what AAP did when it contested its maiden Assembly polls in Delhi by announcing its first list of candidates months before the election.

“With this, it not only becomes easy for the candidates to canvass support and know his or her constituency, but also even the people know who their candidates are. This also helped us prepare a constituency-wise manifesto in our first polls which worked in our favour,” the leader said.

AAP has entrusted the organisation in Punjab to senior AAP leader and state convenor Sanjay Singh, known for building the party structure in Delhi and co-convener Durgesh Pathak.

The party is also working to garner funds for the polls, but, the leader said money will not be an issue for the Punjab election.

The party is not only looking for donations from within the country, but also abroad.

Its NRI cell has been tapping the Punjabi diaspora abroad, especially in countries like US, Canada and UK.

PTI