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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is all set to field industrialist Rajinder Gupta as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in Punjab to be held on October 24, as per official sources.
The candidate is expected to file his nomination on Monday. Gupta was holding a cabinet role in the state government as the Vice Chairman of the Punjab Economic Policy and Planning Board. To file his nomination for the Rajyasabha, he has resigned from this post. Gupta is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trident company, replacing Sanjeev Arora. AAP Sources said, "Rajinder Gupta is a prominent Punjabi industrialist and Harvard alumnus. He has created jobs for millions of people in India and overseas through Trident Group. The party has chosen to send him to the Rajya Sabha in appreciation of his services to Punjab and the nation." Following Sanjeev Arora's resignation after his win in the Ludhiana Assembly by-election, the seat became vacant. Arora won the Ludhiana West assembly seat by-election by a margin of 10,637 votes, garnering 35,179 votes in total. Arora is the Minister of Industries in Punjab. There were rumours that Arvind Kejriwal might be nominated from Punjab to the Rajya Sabha after the resignation; however, the rumours were denied. The party went on to say that the new face would be from Punjab itself. The nomination is scheduled to take place at the Punjab Assembly in Chandigarh in the presence of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Arora had taken oath in the state assembly after winning the bypolls from the Ludhiana West assembly constituency. Furthermore, the name of industrialist Kamal Oswal had also been considered for the position. (ANI)
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