Arvind Kejriwal set for Rajya Sabha innings? Speculation rife as AAP fields Sanjeev Arora in Ludhiana West bypoll

Sanjeev Arora has been declared as the AAP candidate for the Ludhiana West by-election. (File Photo: ANI)

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday declared Sanjeev Arora, its Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, as its candidate in the Ludhiana (West) Assembly by-election which needs to take place before July 11.

The development gains significance with the Opposition claiming that AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal had sought a Rajya Sabha seat following his defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. Kejriwal lost the New Delhi Assembly seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by over 4,000 votes in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections.

Humbled and grateful to the leadership @AamAadmiParty 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. @aappunjab pic.twitter.com/LFAR6Pyvpp
Sanjeev Arora (@MP_SanjeevArora) February 26, 2025

If Arora wins the by-elections, he would have to resign as a Rajya Sabha MP, effectively paving the way or Kejriwal's possible entry to the Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route from Punjab, the only state where AAP is in power with a comfortable majority.

However, AAP leaders have denied any plan to accommodate Kejriwal in the Rajya Sabha and that Arora had been fielded from the seat since Ludhiana is his hometown. "Sanjeev Arora is from Ludhiana, so he is being fielded in the by-election. The party will deliberate on who will be the candidate for Rajya Sabha. The news of Kejriwal going to the Rajya Sabha is a rumour. The Opposition parties are spreading rumours. There was no discussion in the party about Kejriwal going to the Rajya Sabha," Jagtar Singh Sanghera, spokesperson, Punjab AAP, said.

AAP currently has seven Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, cricketer Harbhajan Singh, educationist Ashok Mittal, environmentalist religious leader Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, entrepreneur Vikramjit Singh Sawhney and Sanjeev Arora.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa had earlier said that Kejriwal would shift base to Punjab, hinting at a possible face-off with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The Aam Aadmi Party won 92 of the 117 Assembly seats in the previous Punjab elections. The brute majority would make Kejriwal's entry into the Rajya Sabha virtually a cakewalk.

The dates for the by-elections in Ludhiana West are yet to be announced. The elections were necessitated following the demise of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi Bassi in January. As per rules, a parliamentary or assembly seat cannot remain empty beyond six months. The Assembly bypolls, therefore, need to conclude by July 11.