‘AAP will emerge as No 1 in 2024 Haryana Assembly polls': Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Buoyed by its performance in the Zila Parishad elections in Haryana, the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday vowed to emerge as the "number one choice" of people in the Assembly polls scheduled for 2024 in the BJP-ruled state. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) grabbed the second spot in the Zila Parishad elections, bagging 15 of over 100 seats that its candidates contested on the party symbol, in Haryana. The BJP won just 22 of the 100 seats it had contested. The Zila Parishad elections in Haryana, results of which were declared on Sunday, also saw the Indian National Lok Dal making some gains as it won 10 seats in Sirsa. However, the majority of the seats in several districts, including Jhajjar, Hisar, Rewari and Rohtak, were won by Independents.

"We will come in first position in (Haryana Legislative) Assembly polls, become first choice of the people," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the AAP's national convenor, told reporters when asked for comment on his party's performance in the Zila Parishad polls. Elections to 143 Panchayat Samitis and 22 Zila Parishads in Haryana were held in three phases. The Panchayat Samitis, comprising 3,081 members, will elect their respective presidents. Haryana has 22 Zila Parishads comprising 411 members. The members will, in turn, elect the 22 Zila Parishad chiefs. The AAP's victory in 15 Zila Parishad seats has come as a boost to its expansion plan in the BJP-ruled state.

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The Kejriwal-led party has been vigorously implementing its membership drive to gain a foothold in Haryana with an eye on the 2024 Assembly polls. However, a miserable defeat for its candidate Satender Singh, who had switched over from the BJP, in the Adampur Assembly bypoll earlier this month had come as a setback in those efforts.

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The BJP's Bhavya Bishnoi, the grandson of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, won the seat by over 15,740 votes, defeating Congress nominee Jai Prakash. The resignation of Bhavya's father Kuldeep Bishnoi after he left Congress and joined the BJP had necessitated the bypoll. Ahead of the bypoll, Kejriwal had launched his party's 'Make India No.1" campaign from Hissar on September 7.