CHANDIGARH, Oct. 5 — The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday nominated prominent industrialist Rajinder Gupta, Chairman Emeritus of the Trident Group, as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypoll in Punjab scheduled for October 24.
Gupta is expected to file his nomination in the coming week. The bypoll was necessitated after AAP’s Sanjeev Arora resigned from the Upper House earlier this year following his election to the Punjab Assembly and subsequent induction into Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Cabinet.
In anticipation of his nomination, Gupta has resigned as Vice-Chairman of the State Economic Policy and Planning Board and as Chairperson of the Sri Kali Devi Advisory Committee in Patiala. He was appointed to the Planning Board in 2022 and had taken charge of the temple committee in August this year.
Gupta, who has served as Vice-Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board under previous Congress and SAD-BJP governments, has long held the stature of a Cabinet-rank official in Punjab’s political and administrative circles.
Party insiders said AAP, which holds 93 seats in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha, was keen to field a prominent Punjabi figure for the bypoll. “There was some initial speculation about a senior leader from Delhi being nominated, but the leadership decided to send a clear message that Punjab’s voice will represent Punjab in Parliament,” said an AAP functionary.
Given AAP’s overwhelming majority — where only 60 votes are required to secure the Rajya Sabha seat — Gupta’s victory is virtually assured. However, officials noted that Punjab traditionally elects its Rajya Sabha representatives unopposed, and this bypoll is likely to follow that convention.
The Rajya Sabha seat had fallen vacant after Sanjeev Arora stepped down to contest the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll, which he won before being appointed a minister in the Mann-led government.
