AAP Fields Avadh Ojha From Patparganj, Manish Sisodia to Contest From Jangpura

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced that former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections from Jangpura, while Avadh Ojha, a prominent civil services teacher, will be the party’s candidate for Patparganj. The east Delhi seat, considered a stronghold for AAP, has been represented by Mr. Sisodia since 2013.

AAP released its second list of 20 candidates on Sunday for the elections slated for early next year. This follows an earlier list of 11 candidates announced last month. The ruling party is yet to declare candidates for the remaining 39 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

Mr. Sisodia expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the party for entrusting him with Jangpura, a constituency that has been an AAP bastion since 2013. “Patparganj has been the heart of Delhi’s education revolution,” Mr. Sisodia said, adding that Avadh Ojha, being an educator, is the ideal candidate for the seat. "I am ready to bring the same focus on education and development to Jangpura that I did for Patparganj," he posted on X.

The Jangpura seat was previously held by Praveen Kumar, who has now been shifted to the Janakpuri constituency. Mr. Kumar succeeded Maninder Singh Dhir, who initially won the seat for AAP in 2013 but later joined the BJP.

Avadh Ojha joined AAP earlier this month and has been given the opportunity to contest from Patparganj, regarded as a relatively safe seat for the party. The move is part of AAP’s broader strategy to rejuvenate its candidate roster by replacing all sitting MLAs in the 21 constituencies announced so far.

AAP is gearing up to secure a fourth consecutive term in the Delhi Assembly and appears to be countering anti-incumbency by refreshing its candidate list. The party has also made efforts to address public complaints and diversify its leadership base through strategic candidate selection.