AAP Fields Veteran Leader And MLA Somnath Bharti In New Delhi Constituency (Photo on X @attorneybharti)
As Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced its candidate for the Lok Sabha election in Delhi and Haryana, the party has picked the senior leader and MLA Somnath Bharti for the New Delhi constituency. Mr Bharti came to politics by joining AAP and contested the election in 2013 on Aam Aadmi Party’s ticket. He secured victory in the Malviya Nagar assembly constituency. He has served as a Minister for Law and Administrative Reforms besides holding several other important positions.
Somnath Bharti completed his M.sc from IIT Delhi and then pursued a law degree from Delhi University. As a lawyer, Mr Bharti has been practicing in the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court.
The New Delhi constituency has been represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”s Meenakshi Lekhi for the past two consecutive terms – 2014 and 2019. During the 2009 and 2004 general elections, Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Ajay Makan won the seat. However, with the seniority and experience of Mr Bharti, AAP hope it can wrest New Delhi from the BJP this time.
Notably, Mr Bharti has also been surrounded by controversies and legal procedures against him. In 2021, Mr Bharti was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for allegedly assaulting an AIIMS security staff and bringing down the fence of a boundary wall at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) with a JCB machine. However, the Delhi High Court later suspended his jail term while granting bail.
After announcing his name, Mr Bharti today took to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) expressing his gratitude for trusting him for the New Delhi constituency and thanking AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and the party workers. He also said that he has a firm belief that the BJP will soon stand exposed in “their vendetta politics.”
I have no words to express my gratitude towards my leader and national convener of Aam Aadmi Party Shri @ArvindKejriwal ji for trusting me, an ordinary volunteer, with huge responsibility of contesting from the prestigious New Delhi Loksabha constituency.
I also remember my…
— Adv. Somnath Bharti: इंसानियत से बड़ा कुछ नहीं! (@attorneybharti) February 27, 2024
