Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is set to announce its second list of candidates for Lok Sabha polls over the weekend. The list is expected to see the inclusion of Rakhi Birla, former minister for Women and Child Development in the AAP government in Delhi.
Sources in the Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP said the party was working at a break-neck speed to finalise its candidates, and the second list could have as many as 40 names on it.
The party had announced a first list of 20 candidates on February 16.
AAP sources said Birla would be allotted the Northwest constituency in Delhi. In the first list, the party had announced the candidatures of Jarnail Singh from West Delhi, and Ashutosh from Chandni Chowk.
?Northwest Delhi is a reserved constituency and Birla has established herself as someone who stands for the lower classes. She will be up against another woman leader, Krishna Tirath of the Congress,who is the incumbent,? an AAP source said.
Party sources said there were some ?intellectual, entertainment and corporate luminaries? who would be given tickets.
?Names such as Ravi Bajaj (managing director, Baja Auto), Adarsh Shastri (the grandson of Lal Bahadur Shastri), Rajmohan Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), and singer-songwriter Rabbi Shergill are in the fray,? the source said.
A large number of those who have been involved with the AAP are also likely to be rewarded with Lok Sabha tickets, sources said.
?Prithvi Reddy and Ilyas Azmi are members of the National Executive and they will figure in the party?s Lok Sabha list,? sources said.
Leaders also said Uttar Pradesh was a priority area for the party, and the second list will see a host of names from the state.
?Some of the names that are likely from Uttar Pradesh are Rahul from Bulandshahar, Ujjiyan Lal from Etawah, Rajesh Yadav from Azamgarg, Brajbhushan Dubey from Gazipur, and Masooq Usmain from Gonda. Most of these are people who have worked at the grass-root level in their respective areas,? the source said.
