AAP's Rajya Sabha nominees finalised; Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta, ND Gupta make the cut

It's official. The Aam Aadmi Party has decided to send senior party leader Sanjay Singh, businessman Sushil Gupta and chartered accountant ND Gupta to the Rajya Sabha.

The decision was announced following the AAP's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in New Delhi, which was attended by 56 party MLAs.

"Sanjay Singh, Narayan Das Gupta and Sushil Gupta will be the Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha nominees," Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia announced at a press conference following the PAC meeting.

"Sushil Gupta has made big contributions in the education and health sectors in Delhi and Haryana. He provides free education to 15,000 children. Narayan Das Gupta is the former president of the ICAI(Institute of Chartered Accountant of India)," Sisodia said.

AAP's Kumar Vishwas was earlier seen to be a strong contender for a Rajya Sabha seat. He had even expressed his desire to enter the Upper House, but has been clearly snubbed. A disgruntled Vishwas, who is a member of the PAC meeting, did not attend.

Party spokesperson Ashutosh had also emerged as a possible choice. The AAP had contacted around 18 eminent personalities from different walks of life, including former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, former Union minister Arun Shourie, ex-Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and names from the world of cinema. But they declined the offer.

Elections to three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi will be held on January 16. The AAP, which enjoys a brute majority in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, is set to win all the three seats.

The last date to file nominations for the three Rajya Sabha seats is January 5.