CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today announced that anti-river pollution champion Balbir Singh Seechewal and entrepreneur-philanthropist-social activist Vikramjit Singh Sahney as its candidates for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab. Both of them are Padma Shri awardees.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann made the announcement on Twitter and said, “I am happy to announce that AAP is nominating two Padma Shri awardees for the Rajya Sabha. One is environmentalist Padma Shri Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and second is Padma Shri Vikramjit Singh Sahney. My best wishes to both of them.” Mann met Seechewal recently as he participated in a function to mark the 34th death anniversary of Sant Avtar Singh.
They are expected to file their nominations on Monday as the last date for filing of nominations is May 31. It is unlikely that Opposition parties will field any candidates for the RS polls, which are due on June 10. The terms of RS members Ambika Soni (Congress) and Balwinder Singh Bhunder (Shiromani Akali Dal) are due to expire on July 4.
Once Seechewal and Sahney will assume their roles the AAP will have seven MPs in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab as five MPs of the party were elected unopposed in March, as term of then five RS members from the state came to an end. While the Aam Aadmi Party had drawn the ire of opposition last time when five MPs were nominated to the upper house as the party was accused for sending non-Punjabis to Rajya Sabha. The party had then sent its Punjab affairs in charge Raghav Chadha, its poll strategist Sandeep Pathak, cricketer Harbhajan Singh and industrialists Ashok Mittal and Sanjeev Arora to the Upper House.