New Delhi: Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora is the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) candidate for the for the Ludhiana (West) bypoll. As Arora has to resign from the Rajya Sabha seat after winning the bypoll, speculation is rife that AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal might replace him in the Upper House. The official announcement regarding Arora's candidature was made by the AAP on Wednesday morning.
Reports claim that Kejriwal might be AAP's Rajya Sabha pick from Punjab. However, the AAP dismissed these reports.
Who Is Sanjeev Arora?
Sanjeev Arora is an Indian businessman and AAP's Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab. He was nominated by AAP for the Upper House in 2022 and was elected unopposed. His tenure started on 10 April 2022 and will end in 2028. Arora is AAP's candidate for the bypoll election in the Ludhiana West seat. The bypoll is necessitated after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi on January 10 this year.
For the last three decades, he has been running Ritesh Industries Ltd, which deals in exports. In 2006, he diversified into real estate and changed the name of his company to Ritesh Properties and Industries Ltd (RPIL). Arora has developed the state-of-the-art Hampton Business Park and Hampton Homes on Chandigarh Road. Arora has also served two consecutive terms as the secretary of the Sutlej Club.
In October last year, the Enforcement Directorate searched multiple locations in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurugram and Delhi in connection with a land "fraud" case against AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora and others, reported PTI.
What AAP Said on Kejriwal's Rajya Sabha Entry?
The AAP dismissed reports claiming Kejriwal might enter the Rajya Sabha after Arora's victory in the bypoll. "Arvind Kejriwal is not going to Rajya Sabha...As far as Arvind Kejriwal is concerned, media sources were earlier saying that he will become the Chief Minister of Punjab. Now, media sources are saying that he will contest from Rajya Sabha. Both these sources are absolutely wrong. Arvind Kejriwal is the national convenor of AAP. I agree that his demand is very high, but he is not limited to any one seat," AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar told ANI.
In the recently concluded assembly polls in Delhi, Kejriwal lost to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Parvesh Verma by a margin of over 4,000 votes. In the elections, the BJP returned to power after 26 years. The BJP bagged 48 seats out of 70, while the AAP won 22.
