Ahead of 2019 LS polls, AAP starts candidate scouting

The party is contemplating fielding young leaders, including the likes of Atishi Marlena, Raghav Chadha and Dilip Pandey

Aam Aadmi Party has begun scouting for candidates for the next Lok Sabha elections, due by 2019, with sources in the party claiming it is contemplating fielding young leaders including the likes of Atishi Marlena, Raghav Chadha and Dilip Pandey.

The three probables are believed to be close to the senior AAP leadership and have been with the party since its formation on October 2, 2012 – which was the result of a massive anti-corruption movement.

A senior AAP leader said that 36-year-old Marlena, a former advisor to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, may contest from the East Delhi constituency, currently held by Mahesh Girri of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Marlena, a member of AAP’S Political Affairs Committee, is closely associated with execution of the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation’s programme to improve the conditions of Delhi government schools.

Chadha, 29, may contest from New Delhi constituency, the AAP leader said. A known face on television debates, Chadha is the youngest spokesperson and a former treasurer of AAP. He also regularly liaisons with other political parties, on behalf of the AAP leadership.

Both Marlena and Chadha played important roles in drafting the party’s manifesto for the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls, when AAP made a spectacular debut into electoral politics winning 28 out of 70 Assembly seats. AAP went on to form a minority government, with Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister on December 28, 2013.

However, Kejriwal resigned in February 2014 to seek a fresh mandate, after being 45 days in office when he failed to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill due to a lack of numbers in the Assembly.

Meanwhile, Pandey, 37, could fight the polls from North East Delhi, a seat currently represented by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.

The North East Delhi constituency has a large number of people from the Purvanchal region as registered voters. Aapexpects to tap them by fielding Pandey, who was born in Uttar Pradesh.

Pandey, AAP’S Delhi unit convener, enjoys support among several party volunteers. “The party has started looking for candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and names of these three leaders are doing rounds. However, it could be premature to say the party has zeroed on them,” another AAP leader said. There is also a possibility the party may field its senior MLAS for the Lok Sabha seats, as it did in 2014.