Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the party will announce its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly election in Punjab, based on the opinion of the people.
Mr. Kejriwal said the people of Punjab would choose the chief ministerial candidate and for this purpose, the party had released a cell phone number, on which people can could share their choice. The line would remain open till 5 p.m. on January 17, he said.
“People can give their opinions on the number through SMS, calls or WhatsApp. After collecting all the data, the party will announce its chief ministerial face,” he said at a press conference.
Mr. Kejriwal said the AAP was certain that its chief ministerial nominee would be the next Chief Minister of Punjab.
“Most parties in our country often decide on CM from among their immediate family members or their relatives. But today, the Aam Aadmi Party is stopping this tradition of nepotism, and decided to give this right to the people of Punjab,” he said.
Mr. Kejriwal said he had asked party State president and Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann to be the Chief Minister face, but Mr. Mann maintained that people should choose the candidate. At the conference, Mr. Mann said, “We should stop the practice of deciding the CM behind closed doors. This is something traditional parties impose on the people. We have to end such political traditions. We should decide our CM face according to public opinion, so that people can have the confidence that this Chief Minister is ours and we have chosen him. We will work according to the people.”
