New Delhi: According to a news published by Times of India, in what could redefine equations within Aam Aadmi Party, which has been facing internal squabbling for the past several months, sources said a decision has been taken to nominate outsiders for the three Rajya Sabha seats that are likely to come to the party in January next year. According to these sources, among other people, the party is in touch with former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan.
A senior party member confirmed that a decision had been taken to not nominate any party member for the RS seats. “We are scouting for well-known, eminent people for these seats. One such person is Raghuram Rajan, but we are still in the process of talks and do not have anything concrete at the moment,” said the member.
This decision is not likely to go down well with several members who have been vying for an RS seat. In fact, rumours over who could go to the Upper House have fuelled conflict between members. Senior party member Kumar Vishwas, who was accused of planning a coup against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier this year along with MLA Kapil Mishra, has claimed that attempts are being made to keep him out of RS.
Sources in the party indicated that after Vishwas and party MLA from Okhla Amanatullah Khan fell out, one reason why Vishwas did not leave the party or speak out openly against the leadership was because he had been promised an RS seat.
With a majority of 66 seats in the 70-member assembly, AAP will get the three RS seats in Delhi’s share that will be vacated in January 2018.
