Delhi Elections 2020: AAP drops Jitender Singh Tomar as Tri Nagar candidate after HC annuls his last election

After its candidate and former minister, Jitender Singh Tomar's 2015 poll win was annulled by the Delhi High Court, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has quietly replaced him as its nominee for Tri Nagar constituency in the Delhi Assembly elections with his wife Preeti.

Preeti filed her nomination papers on Monday though her husband was re-nominated by the AAP to fight the polls on January 14. Tomar had not filed his nomination.

The Delhi High Court had on Friday set aside Tomar's election for giving false declaration regarding his educational qualification in his nomination papers for the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls. Soon after the High Court order, the BJP had approached Election Commission against Tomar's candidature.

Tomar said the party has decided that he will not fight the Delhi elections and instead his wife will be its nominee from the seat. "I told the party that my wife will fight the election and the party agreed," the former Delhi Law Minister said.

Earlier, Tomar had said that he would file his nomination on Saturday and that the High Court has set aside his election not disqualified him.

Tomar was arrested by Delhi Police on charges of obtaining a fake degree. He had resigned as a minister in Kejriwal Cabinet following the controversy. He had allegedly obtained a degree in science, which was later found out as fake. On the basis of this degree, he had enrolled for LLB.

The BJP had accused the AAP of giving a ticket to Tomar again and proving that it preferred "tainted" leaders.