Declare CM face in Punjab: State AAP MLAS to Kejriwal
CHANDIGARH : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAS from Punjab on Sunday urged the central leadership to name the party’s chief ministerial face for the 2022 assembly polls in the state at the earliest.
The AAP legislators made the request at a meeting chaired by the party’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital. “The MLAS shared their views and several of them suggested that the party should announce the CM face at the earliest. He (Kejriwal) assured them,” AAP state unit president Bhagwant Mann said after the meeting.
The three-hour meeting was held to take feedback from MLAS and discuss the party’s strategy for the state elections due early next year. Though the party had gone into the 2017 assembly polls without a CM face and won 20 seats to become the principal opposition party, the AAP leaders have been of the view that it worked against them and are keen to name one this time.
During a visit to Amritsar six weeks ago, Kejriwal had declared that the AAP’S chief ministerial face will be from the Sikh community. “One thing I can tell you is that the entire Punjab will be proud of him,” he said. The announcement had sparked off political speculation that former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was sidelined and sulking following his rift with chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, could be an option, but his appointment as the Congress state unit chief has put an end to it.
Besides Punjab affairs in-charge Jarnail Singh and co-incharge Raghav Chadha, 13 party legislators, except Jagtar Singh Jagga Hissowal, attended the meeting. They included Saravjit Kaur Manuke, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Meet Hayer, Budh Ram, Aman Arora, Baljinder Kaur, Jai Kishan Rori, Manjit Singh, Rupinder Kaur Ruby, Kulwant Pandori, Master Baldev Singh and Amarjit Sandoa, were present.
The MLAS briefed Kejriwal about the political scenario and activities undertaken by them in their assembly constituencies. The state chief said there was also a discussion to inform the people of the state about the achievements and development model of the Kejriwal government in Delhi.
A party release said that Kejriwal told the state leaders to support the farmers’ movement against the three farm laws at all levels. The voice raised by Mann in favour of the farmers inside and outside Parliament was highly appreciated, it said.
Kejriwal advised Punjab MLAS and the entire leadership to focus on drawing a positive line to liberate Punjab from mafia forever in the polls. He also gave many examples of Delhi’s development model to the leadership, the party said.