In the absence of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, could attend the party's campaign in Gujarat. Party sources told reporters on Tuesday that Sunita could join Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the campaign.
Of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, AAP has fielded two candidates in Gujarat - Bharuch and Bhavnagar. While Chaitar Vasava will be in the fray from Bharuch, Umesh Makwana is the AAP candidate from Bhavnagar.
As per the seat-sharing pact, the Congress will field candidates in the remaining 24 seats. The party is likely to announce its list of star campaigners for Gujarat later in the day.
The Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7 and the last date for filing nomination papers is April 19.
Meanwhile, AAP has announced four candidates for Punjab, of which three are sitting MLAs. While former MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu is being fielded from the Jalandhar reserve constituency, Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar will be the candidate from Ferozepur. Amansher Singh Kalsi is in the fray from Gurdaspur and Ashok Parashar Pappi from Ludhiana parliamentary seat.
The announcement was made by the party's national general secretary Sandeep Pathak in a post on X.
Brar represents the Muktsar assembly seat, Kalsi is a legislator from Batala seat and Pappi is an MLA from the Ludhiana Central assembly constituency. Tinu left the Shiromani Akali Dal recently to join AAP.
Kejriwal's message
In a press conference held on Tuesday, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said the Delhi Chief Minister has conveyed a message from jail. "Arvind Kejriwal, who worked like a son and a brother for the country and the people of Delhi, has sent a message from jail that 'My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist'.
Singh alleged that Kejriwal was made to meet Chief Minister Mann through a glass. "It is clear from this that the Prime Minister has a feeling of hatred against Arvind Kejriwal," Singh told reporters.
He alleged that there was a bid to demoralise Kejriwal. "This is Arvind Kejriwal, he is made of a different mould. The more you try to break him, the stronger he will come back. Yesterday, CM Bhagwant Mann became emotional during the meeting. This is an emotional matter for all of us but it is a matter of shame for BJP and PM Modi," Singh said.