NEW DELHI: The AAP is committed to follow its ideology to fight corruption and improve education and health services and for this it initiates experts from these fields into politics to serve society, said former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday.
Addressing the media at a press conference to induct educationist and UPSC coach Avadh Ojha into the AAP, Kejriwal said, “His joining the AAP will strengthen the education sector and boost nation-building.”
Kejriwal hailed Ojha’s contribution to society and said, “We ourselves have a background of working in NGOs and Ojha’s role in education and the employment sector is going to be very significant.”
The AAP National Convenor said that while working in an NGO he realised that by joining politics he could bring about change at a statewide level rather than serving a few slum clusters in east Delhi, so the party has decided to induct sector specialists.
Earlier, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia welcomed Ojha into the party and said, “While other parties induct politicians ahead of elections, I welcome the entry of an educationist into the party.”
“This is a reflection of the AAP’s priorities and commitment to improve the education facilities in Delhi, ” he said.
Ojha thanked Kejriwal and other AAP leaders for giving him an opportunity to serve the education sector by joining politics.
“My purpose is to serve the education sector, ” said the educationist-cum-motivational speaker, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda.
“In 2015, only 15 government schoolchildren qualified IIT–Mains but this year the number has gone up to 783, ” Ojha said, highlighting the AAP government’s achievement in Delhi’s education sector.
Though he claimed he would take up whatever responsibility is given by the AAP, sources said Ojha might be fielded as a candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The AAP on Sunday announced its decision to fight the next Delhi Assembly elections on its own.
The party has decided not to repeat its alliance with the Congress like it did in the Lok Sabha elections.
Ahead of Assembly polls in February, the AAP has already announced a first list of 11 candidates.
These include Brahm Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur), Anil Jha (Kirari) and B.B. Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar), all three had recently joined the AAP after leaving the BJP.
The other candidates announced by the AAP are Zubair Choudhary (Seelampur), Veer Singh Dhingan (Seemapuri) and Sumesh Shokeen (Matiala), all three left the Congress to join the AAP.