New Delhi [India], December 22 : Days after announcing Shoaib Iqbal as its candidate for Delhi's Matia Mahal Assembly constituency in the upcoming polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is set to replace him with his son, Aaley Muhammad Iqbal, sources said on Sunday.
The ruling party fielded incumbent Shoaib Iqbal from Matia Mahal when it released its fourth list of candidates for the Delhi assembly elections on December 15.
The sources claimed former Delhi Deputy Mayor Aaley is set to replace his father as AAP's candidate, as Shoaib has expressed his inability to contest the election.
According to sources, "Shoaib Iqbal has expressed his inability to contest the election and has appealed to give the ticket to his son. Based on Shoaib Iqbal's request, the AAP leadership has agreed to give the ticket to Aale Mohammad Iqbal. The official announcement will be made soon."
Notably, Aaley Mohammad Iqbal is currently a councillor from Chandni Mahal and has also served as the Deputy Mayor of Delhi.
As Delhi assembly polls are due early next year, the ruling AAP is leaving no stone unturned to return to power for a fourth time, with the party announcing its candidates for all 70 seats.
However, the main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has not yet announced a single candidate for the polls. Congress has announced its candidates for 21 assembly seats.
Earlier on Friday, December 20, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released its fifth list of candidates for the Delhi Assembly elections 2025 and fielded Mahender Chaudhary from Mehrauli.
The party's national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is all set to contest from New Delhi, CM Atishi from Kalkaji, Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj from Greater Kailash and Minister Gopal Rai from Babarpur.
Additionally, Satyendra Kumar Jain will contest from Shakur Basti, Durgesh Pathak from Rajinder Nagar, Ramesh Pehalwan from Kasturba Naga, Raghuvinder Shokeen from Nangloi Jat, Som Dutt from Sadar Bazar, Imran Hussain from Ballimaran, and Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar.
AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats in the 2020 assembly elections and BJP secured eight seats.