New Delhi, Nov 21 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday released its first list of candidates for the Delhi Assembly elections to be held early next year, naming 11 contenders while dropping three sitting MLAs. The candidates include Anil Jha, a former BJP leader who recently joined the party, and Veer Singh Dhingan, a former Congress leader inducted into the party last week. Jha, a two-time BJP MLA will contest from Kirari, replacing sitting MLA Rituraj Jha. Dhingan, who previously served as a Congress MLA, has been fielded from Seemapuri, taking over from sitting MLA Rajendra Pal Gautam. Brahm Singh Tanwar is the candidate from Chhatarpur in South Delhi, Deepak Singla will contest from Vishwas Nagar in the Shahdara region, while Sarita Singh has been chosen to contest from Rohtas Nagar.Other candidates include B.B. Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar, Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur, Zubair Chaudhary from Seelampur, replacing sitting MLA Abdul Rehman, while Gaurav Sharma, Manoj Tyagi, and Somesh Shaukeen will contest from Ghonda, Karawal Nagar, and Matiala seats, respectively. Shaukeen replaces Gulab Singh Yadav in Matiala. AAP's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) met on Thursday in Delhi to finalise the candidates list. The meeting involved discussions on election strategies and the selection of candidates as the party seeks its third straight victory in the national capital. Senior party leaders emphasised the importance of fresh faces to strengthen the AAP position in the Assembly elections. Earlier, AAP convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that tickets will be distributed on the basis of work done by the candidates, public opinion about them and the winnability of the probable candidates.

Kejriwal also likened the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections to a 'dharmayudh' (righteous war), akin to the one in the Mahabharata. He had said that the divine forces are on AAP's side, citing the party's victory in the mayoral elections. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the AAP had won 62 out of the 70 seats in Delhi.

/IANS