AAP unveils first list of Karnataka Assembly elections candidates; fields state Congress chief's relative

The Aam Aadmi Party has long been trying to increase its foothold across India.

In a bid to gain some ground in Karnataka, the party on Monday released its first list, which comprises 80 candidates who will contest the Assembly elections scheduled for next month.

The party is not leaving any stone unturned, as it says it will field candidates in all 224 Assembly seats in the state.

The first list includes some of the most well-known names from the state, including Supreme Court lawyer Brijesh Kalappa, who will contest from Chickpet, former Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officer K Mathai (Shanti Nagar), BT Naganna (Rajajinagar), Mohan Dasari (C V Raman Nagar), Shanthala Damle (Mahalakshmi Layout), and Ajay Gowda from Padmanabhanagar.

The party is throwing some surprises, as it is also fielding Sharatchandra from Channapatna, who is a relative of Congress state president DK Shivakumar.

Reddy said that it is loyalty and not the family legacy that is a criterion for the party.

"It does not matter who is whose relative; they have chosen AAP over Congress, which is sufficient".

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, party state chief Prithvi Reddy said, "These candidates (in the list) represent various sections of the society. The average age of the list of our candidates is only 46 years. More than 50 per cent of our candidates are below the age of 45," Reddy said.

Reddy informed that the candidates had been chosen after a survey.

While some of the candidates are veterans and experienced, the party is also fielding a lot of fresh faces.

Reddy said 69 candidates are new faces, and the list comprises youth, women, farmers, and people from all walks of life.

"Our list has highly educated people. We have 13 advocates, three doctors, and four IT professionals in the first list," the AAP leader said.