Ahead of the Delhi assembly elections expected to be held early next year, former two-time MP from Timarpur, Surendra Pal Singh Bittu, joined the AAP on Friday, while current MP from the constituency, Dilip Pandey , hinted that he might be denied his ticket for the upcoming Timarpur polls, saying it was time for him to do something else. Earlier, Pandey, a senior AAP leader and the party’s chief whip in the Delhi Assembly, in a lengthy article on X in Hindi, said that whoever contests elections from the constituency, only Arvind Kejriwal would become the Delhi Chief Minister and the people would make sure of it.

Pandey’s decision comes after AAP MLA from Shahdara and outgoing Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel recently sought to retire from electoral politics citing his old age, in a letter to Kejriwal.

“Having taken on the responsibility of building a political organization and then participating in political elections, it is now time to do something else while remaining in the AAP,” Pandey said in his message.

Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia welcomed Singh to the party and said his experience would help the party in its development work.

“Inspired by AAP’s good development work in education and health, Singh joins our party today, and I am sure his experience will help the party continue to do good work” , Sisodia said. He highlighted that Arvind Kejriwal is a true leader of the people and a messiah of the downtrodden.

“I wanted to stand alongside him and contribute to the cause of improving people’s lives. I am committed to working alongside this party to bring about positive changes and ensure the welfare of the people,” he added.

“There is only one party which truly understands the needs of common people and I will work side by side with AAP,” Singh said after joining the party.

A former software engineer based in Singapore, Pandey returned to India to join the anti-corruption movement and later became one of the prominent leaders of the AAP after Kejriwal founded the party. A Purvanchali leader of the AAP, he also contested the Lok Sabha polls from the North East Delhi seat on the party ticket in 2019, but was defeated by BJP’s Manoj Tiwari.

Pandey said his only satisfaction from being in politics is that the AAP government has made life easier for a large number of common men and poor people and has paved the way for prospects of a better life for many children.

The Delhi assembly elections are scheduled for February next year, and the AAP is eyeing a third consecutive term after winning 62 out of 70 seats in the 2020 elections.