DELHI CHIEF Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal Thursday named journalist-turned-Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh as co-incharge of Punjab affairs and party spokesperson. The development comes a day after Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab affairs incharge Sanjay Singh and national organisation building head Durgesh Pathak were accused of seeking money for tickets.
Jarnail Singh had hit the headlines for hurling a shoe at former Union Finance Minister P Chidambram in 2009.
On Wednesday, a founder member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Pavittar Singh, had accused Sanjay Singh and Pathak of demanding Rs 50 lakh for party ticket for Pavittar’s wife.
Now by handing over an important assignment to Jarnail Singh, who is a riot victim, the party has diluted the powers of Sanjay Singh and provided a Sikh face to party’s campaign for the 2017 elections in Punjab.
A Sikh face will also help ward off allegations that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was being run by “outsiders” since Sanjay Singh is not a Punjabi. The appointment also holds significance in the light of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu reportedly reluctant to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai said Yadav was not being removed from his post. Jarnail Singh will work alongside Yadav as joint in-charge and Punjab spokesperson, he said.
“Congratulations Rajouri Garden MLA Jarnail Singh on being made the joint in-charge and spokesperson in Punjab,” Sanjay Singh, who is in-charge of AAP’s Punjab affairs said.
AAP is locked in a triangular fight against the BJP-SAD alliance and Congress in the state which goes to polls next year. It released its second list of candidates said on Thursday.