New Delhi:
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kuldeep Kumar will contest the Lok Sabha polls from East Delhi seat. The party will contest four of the seven seats in Delhi in alliance with the Congress. Gautam Gambhir, who won East Delhi in 2019, won’t contest this time.
Here are five facts about Kuldeep Kumar:
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Coming from a humble background, Mr Kumar faced financial hardships during his childhood. His father worked as a sanitation worker with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). His father continued his job even after his son became an MLA of the party led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from Kondli assembly constituency.
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Mr Kumar enrolled in the University of Delhi’s History Honours programme at Shyam Lal College. He dropped out of college after the second year. He was always inclined towards socio-political movements. Mr Kumar led the Ambedkar Andolan in East Delhi at the age of 18. The movement focused on raising awareness about education among Scheduled Castes youth.
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Mr Kumar came in contact with Mr Kejriwal during the India Against Corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare, and joined the AAP after its formation in 2012. He worked as a volunteer in the early days of the party, closely with the founding members.
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He was fielded by the AAP in the 2017 municipal election in Delhi from Kalyanpuri ward in East Delhi. Mr Kumar was elected the youngest corporator in the MCD at the age of 27. He was then appointed Leader of the Opposition of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and vice president of AAP’s Delhi Unit.
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Mr Kumar was again given an AAP ticket, this time from the Kondli (East) reserved seat in the Delhi assembly election in 2020. He defeated BJP’s Raj Kumar by nearly 18,000 votes.