AAP MLAs who toured Goa face axe

The Aam Aadmi Party may not give renomination to three party MLAs who went on a trip to Goa in September for an alleged meeting with BJP leaders.

Sources said that the party was in the hunt to get new faces to replace them in their stead.

Sending a distress signal to the AAP ranks, the three legislators, Dharmendra Singh Koli (Seemapuri), Ashok Kumar Chauhan (Ambedkar Nagar) and Prakash Jarwal (Deoli) boarded a flight from Delhi on September 22.

After the incident, the party had asked them to return to the city immediately.
But the party had then claimed that the MLAs had left for Goa solely for the purpose of tourism.

A party leader said that the incident caused major embarrassment to the party because it surfaced merely two week after the party released a sting video that allegedly showed Delhi BJP vice president Sher Singh Dagar offering bribe to an AAP legislator in return of support.

While it has not been formally announced that party legislators Raju Dhingan (Trilokpuri) and Veena Anand (Patel Nagar) will not be given party tickets, sources said, they are being given a second consideration.

“Dhingan has done good work in his constituency. But he does not know how to handle the media,” a party source said, while adding that the party has asked local AAP volunteers and workers to assess his work.

The Trilokpuri MLA had faced criticism for his handling of riot in Trilokpuri.
An AAP leader claimed that only about a dozen more candidates are likely to secure AAP ticket.

Last week, the party had repeated the line-up for the December 2013 Assembly polls while declaring nominees for 22 seats that included 12 MLAs.

The next list is likely to be announced after November 24 when party chief Arvind Kejriwal returns from Vipassana.

Sources said that at least two more lists are expected in the coming days.