Overview

• AAP’s Political Affairs Committee officially nominated Trident Group chairman emeritus and Padma Shri awardee Rajinder Gupta for the Upper House seat from Punjab.
• The vacancy arose after Sanjeev Arora resigned from the Rajya Sabha following his Ludhiana West assembly bypoll win and his induction as a state minister.
• According to the election schedule, nominations will be accepted October 6–13 with voting slated for October 24 in the Punjab Assembly.
• With 93 of 117 MLAs and only 60 votes required, AAP’s majority makes Gupta’s victory highly likely, with an uncontested outcome still possible under state convention.
• Gupta recently resigned as vice-chairman of the Punjab Planning Board and as chair of the Sri Kali Devi temple advisory body as AAP advances a Punjabi industrialist for the seat.