AAP announces five Lok Sabha in-charges in Delhi

NEW DELHI: In a bid to further strengthen the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, it has appointed five Lok Sabha incharges (Prabharis) for Parliamentary constituencies of Delhi. Five senior leaders of the party have been assigned separate parliamentary constituencies for micro-focus on the parliament seats and strengthening the organization further on the seats assigned.

The five names announced as Lok Sabha in-charges— Pankaj Gupta (Chandni Chowk), Dilip Kumar Pandey (Northeast Delhi), Raghav Chadhha (South Delhi), Atishi Marlena (East Delhi) and Guggan Singh Ranga (Northwest Delhi)—are considered to be close to AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

“We are appointing them as Prabharis in order to further strengthen the party at the booth level. They will focus on further building up the organisation in the respective Lok Sabha seats,” said AAP'S Delhi convener Gopal Rai.

It is believed that the Lok Sabha in-charges could emerge as frontrunners for being considered as candidates from the constituencies assigned to them. There has been speculation about Marlena, who is a member of the Political Affairs Committee and has played an important role as a consultant for the Delhi government's initiatives in the field of education, being considered as a candidate from East Delhi constituency.

Similarly, it was being said that Gupta, a close associate of Kejriwal, could be considered as the AAP candidate from Chandni Chowk. AAP leader Ashutosh had contested from Chandni Chowk in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

The names of Chadhha, who has been a prominent face of the party, and Pandey, who has played a crucial role in building the party's organisation in Delhi, have also been doing the rounds as probable candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The step came nearly a year before the general election in which Delhi has seven seats and in 2014 BJP won in all these seats.