Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has selected its five candidates for the Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab that will fall vacant on 9th April 2022, as the terms of current MPs Pratap Singh Bajwa, Shamsher Singh Dullo (Congress), Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Naresh Gujral (Shiromani Akali Dal); and Shwait Malik from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expire.
Elections for these seats will be held on 31st March 2022.
As the AAP has a majority in the Punjab assembly with 92 of the 117 seats, its nominees will be elected unoppose.
Rajya Sabha members have a term of six years.
The AAP’s numbers in the RS has now gone up from three to eight.
AAP’s Rajya Sabha Candidates
Harbhajan Singh
The former cricketer from Jalandhar will work in strengthening the sports infrastructure in Punjab, including building a sports university, and help in consolidating the party’s connection with the youth.
Harbhajan Singh debuted in 1998 and is remembered for the 32 wickets he took in the 2001 India vs Australia test series.
He known more for his spin bowling, has play in all forms of test matches, ODIs, T20s and IPLs.
Harbhajan Singh enjoys a good relationship with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
He was the captain of the Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians and captain Punjab for the 2012–13 Ranji Trophy season.
Under Harbhajan Singh captaincy, Mumbai won the 2011 Champions League Twenty20.
An Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri, Harbhajan Singh has been working for the upliftment of disadvantaged children through the Smile Train Foundation and Tera Tera Foundation.
Raghav Chadha
The 33-year-old Delhi MLA from Rajendra Nagar was appoint as the Punjab co in-charge in 2020 and has stayed put in Punjab, overseeing the rollout of the AAP’s strategy.
Raghav Chadha, vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board, was ably articulating the party’s position as well as puncturing the charges of the opposition.
He has the trust of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.
Raghav Chadha is the link between Delhi and Punjab and is expect to keep a watchful eye on the developments in Punjab.
He will be the youngest RS MP to take oath, after Mary Kom who became MP at the age of 35 and Ritabrata Banerjee at the age of 34.
Raghav Chadha was the youngest spokesperson of the party.
A graduate from the London School of Economics, Raghav Chadha met Kejriwal in 2012, who urge him to get involve in the drafting of the Delhi Lokpal Bill as his first task.
In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, Raghav Chadha register an emphatic victory as the party’s candidate from Rajinder Nagar.
Raghav Chadha was appoint as the chairperson of the Delhi Assembly’s peace and harmony committee.
Sandeep Pathak
Sandeep Pathak, IIT-Delhi associate professor has working quietly behind the scenes for years and is seen as the man who had a key role in winning Punjab for the AAP.
He first caught Kejriwal’s attention, when unlike many other pre- and post-poll surveys, his survey had not given the AAP either a comfortable majority or a landslide.
Sandeep Pathak has also involve in the AAP’s 2020 Delhi campaign, which meant that he work with political strategist Prashant Kishor and pick up a few more skills to fight and win an election.
Sandeep Pathak’s role has been so decisive that sources within the party are unanimous in their opinion that he deserve the Rajya Sabha seat.
Ashok Mittal
Ashok Mittal is the chancellor and owner of Lovely Professional University, which was establish in 2001 in Phagwara and within a short span, went on to become one of the largest private universities in the country that draws in students from across the world.
He is the son of the late Baldev Raj Mittal, who laid the foundation of what has gone on to become a successful and thriving business empire in Punjab.
The success story of this family is remarkable, considering the humble beginnings of one sweet shop in Jalandhar in 1961.
Today, the business has expanded with interests in auto dealership and education.
Sanjeev Arora
Industrialist Sanjeev Arora is the fifth Rajya Sabha candidate of the AAP.
Sanjeev Arora, a Ludhiana-based industrialist, runs the ‘Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust’ and has been involve in charitable work for 15 years.
Sanjeev Arora started the trust for breast cancer after he lost both his parents to cancer.
The trust has serving the people of Punjab for over 15 years, and more than 160 cancer patients have been treat for free.
Sanjeev Arora is also on the governing board of Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, and is also a member of the Apex Council of Punjab Cricket Association.
Sanjeev Arora has been the secretary of Sutlej Club, Ludhiana, a prime institution of Punjab that provided ample help to the Ludhiana District Administration by donating ambulances, PPE kits, and other essentials.
