The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday announced its first list of candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, with notable names from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress joining the party. The elections are expected to be held in early 2025.
Former BJP leaders Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha, and BB Tyagi, along with former Congress leaders Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad, Veer Dhingan, and Sumesh Shokeen, who recently joined AAP, are among those featured in the party's first list of 11 candidates.
The list includes the following candidates:
- Chhatarpur: Brahm Singh Tanwar
- Kirari: Anil Jha
- Vishwas Nagar: Deepak Singla
- Rohtas Nagar: Sarita Singh
- Laxmi Nagar: B.B. Tyagi
- Badarpur: Ram Singh
- Netaji Seelampur: Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad
- Seemapuri: Veer Dhingan
- Ghonda: Gaurav Sharma
- Karawal Nagar: Manoj Tyagi
- Matiala: Sumesh Shokeen
The AAP had previously won a decisive victory in the February 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, securing 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP won only 8 seats and Congress failed to secure any.
However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's tenure has faced significant challenges. In March 2024, Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an ongoing investigation into a money laundering case related to the cancelled Delhi excise policy. He was arrested again in June 2024 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), becoming the first sitting chief minister to be arrested. Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September after his plea was upheld by the Delhi High Court.