Delhi polls: AAP moves Sisodia to Jangpura; Avadh Ojha picks up Patparganj

In a bid to counter anti-incumbency and consolidate its position, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made a significant reshuffle in its candidate line-up for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

On Monday, 9 December, the party released its second list of 20 candidates, which includes senior leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia being shifted from his traditional Patparganj constituency to Jangpura.

Replacing Sisodia in Patparganj is Avadh Ojha, an educator renowned for his grassroots work and a recent addition to the AAP.

The Patparganj seat has long been a stronghold for the party, with Sisodia achieving several successive victories — including a decisive win in 2020 against the BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi by a margin of over 3,000 votes.

Sisodia’s transformative contributions to Delhi’s education sector have been a cornerstone of AAP’s governance, making Ojha’s candidacy both a symbolic and strategic choice.

Expressing gratitude, Ojha posted on X: ‘Education is a means of service. I thank the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal-ji, for trusting a common teacher like me and giving me this opportunity. Brother Manish Sisodia has made an incomparable contribution to education. I am ready to sacrifice everything to take his educational journey forward.’

On the reshuffle of seats, Sisodia said: ‘When Avadh Ojha–ji joined the party and there was a demand to field him in the elections, all I could think was that there could be no better seat than Patparganj for a teacher. I am happy to hand over the responsibility of Patparganj to another teacher.

‘Now I am ready to work with everyone in Jangpura to do the same work that I did in Patparganj for education, service and development. For me, politics is not a means to power, but a means to education, honesty and public welfare.’

The second list announced today also includes Jitender Singh Shunty, a former BJP leader, contesting from Shahdara and Surinder Pal Singh Bittu, another BJP defector, being fielded from Timarpur. Shunty replaces outgoing AAP MLA and assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel, while Bittu takes over from AAP’s chief whip, Dilip Pandey.

In the last assembly elections, AAP won 62 out of 70 seats, securing a decisive mandate driven by its focus on education, healthcare and governance reforms. The reshuffling of candidates in key constituencies reflects the party’s strategy to sustain its momentum by blending experience with fresh faces such as Ojha’s, appealing to both loyal and undecided voters.

With 31 candidates now announced, the AAP is preparing for a fiercely contested battle as it seeks to defend its bastion against challenges from the BJP and Congress.