Know AAP Lok Sabha candidates in Delhi and Haryana

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced its four candidates in Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May. The party also fielded its candidate for Kurukshetra in Haryana. Here are their brief profiles:

Kuldeep Kumar (East Delhi):

Kumar is the sitting MLA from Kondli. A young and dynamic social worker, he comes from a humble family.

His father works as a sanitation worker in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). At the age of 18, he led the "Ambedkar Movement" in East Delhi. He has a degree in History Honors from Shyam Lal College, Delhi University.

He played an active role in the India Against Corruption and the Anna Hazare-led movement. He was a prominent worker of the Aam Aadmi Party in East Delhi. At the age of 27, he was elected as the youngest municipal councilor from the Kalyanpuri ward in 2017. He became the youngest opposition leader nominated in the municipal council. In 2020, he was elected as an MLA from Kondli.  He is known as Monu Bhaiya locally, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying that he is not only loved by the people of Kondli but also of neighbouring constituencies. 

"I am really thankful to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia for choosing a person from SC community for a general category seat. Nobody can think of doing it but our chief minister has done it... I promise that East Delhi will be the first seat that we will win," Kuldeep Kumar told PTI Video.

Mahabal Mishra (West Delhi):

Mishra has been a prominent figure in the Purvanchali community in the national capital. He belongs to Siriyapur in Madhubani district of Bihar and had previously represented the West Delhi constituency on a Congress ticket from 2009 to 2014.

He transitioned into social work after serving in the Army. Born on July 31, 1953, he lives in Delhi with his wife, one daughter, and two sons. His political journey began as a municipal councilor from Dabri ward in 1997. He became the MLA from Nasirpur in 1998 and was subsequently re-elected in 2003 and 2008.

Throughout his career, Mishra has held various public offices and served on parliamentary committees related to Petroleum and Natural Gas, Home Affairs, and Power. His son, Vinay Mishra, is the AAP MLA from Dwarka.

Mahabal Mishra was suspended from the Congress in 2020 for anti-party activities during the assembly elections. Ahead of the MCD elections in 2022, he joined the AAP. 

Somnath Bharti (New Delhi):

Bharti is the sitting MLA from Malviya Nagar on his third term. He previously held the position of Minister of Law, Tourism, Administrative Reforms, Art & Culture in the Delhi government. Currently, he serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board. In addition to his responsibilities in Delhi, Bharti is in-charge of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.

Bharti earned his M.Sc degree from IIT Delhi in 1997 and subsequently pursued a degree in law from Delhi University. He began practising law in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, where he focused on judicial reforms and advocated for the rights of the underprivileged, poor, and illiterate.

In 2010, he met Kejriwal during an IIT event, which marked the beginning of their collaboration. When the AAP was formed on November 26, 2012, Bharti was one of its founding members. He contested and won as an AAP candidate from the Malviya Nagar assembly constituency in 2013, served as the Minister of Law and initiated 19 major reforms, including the introduction of audio-visual recording of court proceedings for transparency.  Bharti had been re-elected from Malviya Nagar in 2015 and 2020. He has also served as a member of the DDA, contributing to land and infrastructure development.

"I am thankful to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving me this responsibility. This is a huge responsibility. This is a big responsibility, especially in this environment, where you can see what is being done to our democracy. I have received the support of people thrice to become an MLA. The first time I won with a margin of 8,000 votes, then I won with a margin of 16,000 votes and then the third time I won with a margin of 19,200 votes," Bharti told PTI Video.

Sahiram Pahalwan (South Delhi):

Pahalwan was born in the village of Tehkhand in the Tughlaqabad assembly constituency of South Delhi. His father was a social worker. He was a wrestler. He has served in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Due to his interest in social work, he resigned from the CISF.

His political career began in 1997 when he was first elected as a councillor in the MCD. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the president of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (Central Zone). In 2007 and 2013, he was elected as a councillor for the second and third consecutive terms.

In 2013, he served as the Deputy Mayor of the MCD. In 2015, he was elected as an MLA from Tughlaqabad constituency for the first time. 

In 2020, he became a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly from the same constituency for the second time. 

Sushil Kumar Gupta (Kurukshetra, Haryana):

Gupta is a renowned educator, agriculturalist, and social worker. He has been associated with several philanthropic organisations in Delhi and Haryana. Gupta's educational institutions serve more than 15,000 students in Delhi and Haryana.

In 2018, the Aam Aadmi Party nominated him to the Rajya Sabha, where he raised his voice strongly on issues such as education and healthcare. Holding degrees in B.Com, LLB, and D.Litt, Gupta serves as the Haryana state president of the Aam Aadmi Party.