The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The decision to nominate Swati Maliwal, known for her advocacy for women’s rights, will mark her debut in parliamentary affairs.
The AAP’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) has agreed to run Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta for their second mandates as members of the upper house, which expire on January 27, 2024.
Swati Maliwal will replace Sushil Kumar Gupta, whose term as a Rajya Sabha member expires this month. According to PTI, citing a person familiar with the subject, Gupta has expressed his desire to completely immerse himself in the political politics of Haryana, where the AAP plans to fight elections later this year.
Earlier today, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi permitted Sanjay Singh, who was detained in a money laundering case relating to the suspected Delhi excise fraud, to sign forms and paperwork for his renomination to the Rajya Sabha.
The ruling was issued by Special Judge M K Nagpal in response to a plea filed by the top AAP leader requesting that the Tihar Jail Superintendent allow him to sign the documents.
“It is being directed that if the documents are presented by counsel for accused before jail authorities on January 6, 2024, the jail superintendent shall ensure that the signatures of the accused are permitted to be taken on said documents and he is also permitted to meet his Counsel for half-an-hour to discuss the modalities in connection with filing of the said nomination,” according to an order issued by the judge on Thursday.
The AAP now has ten members in the upper house, including former cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Raghav Chadha. AAP’s strength in Rajya Sabha saw a significant increase after the party’s landslide victory in Punjab.
The nomination process for Delhi’s three RS seats began on January 3, and the election will take place on January 19. Because the AAP controls 62 of the 70 seats in the Delhi legislature, the three AAP nominees are expected to be elected unopposed.
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