Delhi polls: AAP releases 1st list of 11 candidates, fields BJP, Cong turncoats
New Delhi, Nov 21: The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday announced its first list of 11 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls, dropping three sitting MLAs and fielding six leaders who switched over from the BJP and the Congress recently.
Elections in the national capital are due in February to elect 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. AAP is the first party to release a list of candidates.
Making the announcement at a press conference here, Delhi AAP convener Gopal Rai reasoned that the early declaration of names of candidates was because eight of the 11 constituencies are not held by the party.
Six of these eight constituencies are currently held by the BJP.
He also rebutted suggestions that outsiders who recently joined AAP were given tickets at the cost of party leaders.
The names of candidates were announced after a meeting of the AAP's political affairs committee, headed by party national convener Arvind Kejriwal. AAP, which has been ruling Delhi since 2015, won 62 seats in the 2020 assembly polls.
Talking to reporters, Rai said the tickets were given strictly based on performance, surveys and public opinion as was promised by Kejriwal.
Sitting AAP MLAs who were denied tickets include Rituraj Jha from Kirari, Gulab Singh Yadav from Matiala and Abdul Rahman from Seelampur. Both Jha and Gulab Singh are two-term MLAs.
The party fielded Brahm Singh Tanwar from Chhatarpur, Anil Jha from Kirari and BB Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar. All three recently quit the BJP and joined AAP.
Former Congress leader Choudhary Zubair Ahmed has been fielded from Seelampur, while ex-MLAs Veer Singh Dhingan and Somesh Shokeen have been given tickets from Seemapuri and Matiala respectively. Ahmed, Dhingan and Shokeen joined the Aam Aadmi Party from the Congress.
AAP MLA from Chhatarpur Kartar Singh Tanwar quit the party and joined the BJP. He was disqualified as MLA by the Speaker.
Rajender Pal Gautam, AAP MLA from Seemapuri, resigned from the membership of the Delhi Assembly and the party to join the Congress.
Former AAP MLA Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Ram Singh Netaji (Badarpur), Gaurav Sharma (Ghonda), Manoj Tyagi (Karawal Nagar) and Deepak Singhal (Vishwas Nagar) are the other candidates whose names figure in the first list.
The party fielded Sarita Singh and Ram Singh Netaji again from Rohtas Nagar and Badarpur, respectively. They lost to their BJP rivals in the 2020 Assembly polls with narrow margins.
Rai said that the party has paced its election campaign with the release of these 11 names, adding that in the coming days, AAP will start a new campaign.
First list of AAP candidates for Delhi Elections is OUT‼️
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) November 21, 2024
All the best to all the candidates ✌️🏻
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
