New Delhi, Jun 2 (CNN-IBN): Aam Aadmi Party National Convener Arvind Kejriwal will contest directly against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the coming Delhi Assembly elections. Dikshit has contested from the New Delhi constituency in the past.
AAP took the decision after a meeting of its volunteers in the national capital on Sunday. AAP plans to emerge as a key player in Delhi after the state election.
Last week, AAP also released the first shortlist of 44 probable candidates for 12 seats in the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Names that leap out of the list are those of Manish Sisodia from Patpartganj, Sazia Ilmi from RK Puram and Somnath Bharti from Malaviya Nagar. AAP's list of probables also has former Congress and BJP workers such as Bheem Singh and Kishori Lal Dhanak who haven't contested an election yet.
The Aam Aadmi Party took the decision after a meeting of its volunteers in the national capital on Sunday.
There will be a second round of screening followed by preferential voting by active volunteers from each area before the number comes down to 12. The final decision will be taken by the Political Affairs Committee of the party. Kejriwal had said that AAP's selection process was a way to "cleanse politics" while challenging the BJP and the Congress not to field tainted candidates.
Kejriwal has been taking on Sheila Dikshit in the recent past over inflated electricity bills in Delhi and has also accused her government of corruption.