Arvind Kejriwal to make Parliament debut? AAP's recent bypoll pick sets off the buzz; party clarifies

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday stirred up political speculation by nominating Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora to contest the upcoming Ludhiana West assembly bypoll. This move led to buzz that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who lost his New Delhi assembly seat in the recent elections, might be eyeing a return to the Upper House by replacing Arora, should he vacate his seat in Parliament.

Reacting to his nomination, Arora expressed gratitude towards the party leadership, posting on X (formerly Twitter), "Humbled and grateful to the leadership AAP for reposing faith in me to contest the Ludhiana West bye-elections. As someone deeply connected to my hometown, I look forward to serving my people with dedication and sincerity."

Arora, a businessman who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2022, is currently serving a term that runs until 2028. However, if he resigns to contest the assembly election, his Rajya Sabha seat could be up for grabs, potentially making way for Kejriwal to step into the role, though AAP has denied any such plans.

AAP issues clarification

A member of the Kejriwal-led party later issued a clarification and dismissed the speculation. He said, "Arvind Kejriwal ji is not going to the Rajya Sabha."

"Sanjeev Arora ji remains quite active in his field, which is why he is contesting the elections," said Priyanka Kakkar.


"As far as Arvind Kejriwal ji is concerned, media sources were initially saying that he would become the Chief Minister of Punjab. Now they are saying that he will contest elections from the Rajya Sabha. Both these sources are completely wrong," said Kakkar.

Kejriwal’s potential shift to Punjab would make sense given that his party lost power in Delhi after a decade. Since resigning as Delhi's Chief Minister, Kejriwal has been residing in Delhi at the home of Punjab MP Ashok Mittal.

With Punjab now offering the most promising opportunity for the AAP leader, it will be closely watched how this situation develops.

The Ludhiana West seat was previously held by Gurpreet Gogi, who tragically passed away after an accidental gunshot injury while cleaning his pistol.