Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, several reports said last week.
The reports said the AAP has made up its mind that the polls will be fought in the Sangrur MP's name. It further said that the announcement had been delayed because AAP National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal on Wednesday said his party will announce its chief ministerial face for the Assembly elections in Punjab next week.
He also admitted that his party could lose some votes due to the decision of the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, a platform of farmers' organisations, to contest the Punjab Assembly polls.
The AAP chief said an alliance with the SSM for the February 14 polls did not happen because of differences over seat-sharing.
The Delhi chief minister rejected the charge that his party is taking money for allotting tickets to assembly aspirants, rubbishing an audio tape in which the allegation was recently made.
Several farmer bodies which had taken part in the stir against the Centre's now withdrawn agri laws had last month launched the SSM, a front to fight the Punjab polls.
Last week, SSM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal ruled out an alliance with the AAP.
"Rajewal saheb came to me at my house and a discussion took place. The day he came, we had already announced 90 tickets and he said he wanted 60 tickets," Kejriwal told reporters.
The AAP leader said he told Rajewal that just 27 party tickets were now left to be distributed and the SSM could take 10-15 out of them.
"I completely agree that if the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha fights separately some AAP votes could definitely be lost," he said.
Kejriwal trashed allegations that money was being exchanged for party tickets, saying this does not happen in the AAP.
"If anybody proves that somebody sold tickets and somebody else bought them, I will throw them out of the party within 24 hours," he said.
"I can tolerate anything, but not corruption," he said, adding that he would ensure that anybody who does this would end up behind bars." He said he would also make sure that anybody levelling false allegation goes to jail.
(With PTI inputs)
