Aam Aadmi Party’s Shoaib Iqbal wants his son Aaley Muhammad Iqbal to replace him as party candidate from Matia Mahal

Less than a week 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 told India Today TV on Saturday.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party fielded Shoaib Iqbal from Matia Mahal when it released its fourth list of candidates for the Delhi Assembly elections, on December 15.

Now sources claim that Shoaib Iqbal and his son and former Delhi Deputy Mayor Aaley, met the former Delhi Chief Minister at his residence on Saturday to discuss the matter.

As per sources, Shoaib Iqbal, who is the incumbent MLA since 2020, expressed his desire to enter national politics and urged AAP national convenor Kejriwal to field his son Aaley from Matia Mahal in his place.

The party is likely to take a formal decision and give its nod to the preposition soon, sources said.

Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly are expected in January 2025. AAP has announced that the party will go solo in Delhi, much like its strategy during the Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal’s party will rely on its governance track record and grassroots outreach to defend its turf, particularly in a constituency as symbolic as New Delhi.