Who is DCW chief Swati Maliwal nominated for Rajya Sabha by AAP?

The Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday announced the nomination of Delhi Commission for Women chief and senior party member Swati Maliwal for Rajya Sabha elections in Delhi scheduled to be held on January 19.

With the six-year term of three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi ending this month, voting to elect the new members will take place on January 19.

The three members – Sanjay Singh, Sushil Kumar Gupta and Narain Dass Gupta – will be retiring on January 27.

However, ND Gupta and jailed senior leader Sanjay Singh will be re-nominated as well while Sushil Kumar Gupta, as per the party said, has expressed his intent to redirect his focus towards the electoral politics of Haryana.

ND Gupta is the party treasurer and Sushil Gupta is the AAP President of the Haryana unit. The state is expected to go to polls later this year.

“Chaired by AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the committee decided to endorse two existing members for re-nomination, whereas Sushil Kumar Gupta expressed his intent to redirect his focus towards the electoral politics of Haryana,” the party said.

Who is Swati Maliwal?

Born on October 15, 1984, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Swati Maliwal is a women’s rights activist who joined as the DCW chairperson in July 2015. Her tenure ended in 2018 but got extended for another three years. Maliwal is the youngest person to hold the position. She also worked as the advisor to the Chief Minister of Delhi on public grievances. Maliwal was also a core member of the Indian Against Corruption movement.

She was married to AAP leader Naveen Jaihind, however, they have been divorced since February 2020.

She attended Amity International School before earning a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the JSS Academy of Technical Education. After working at HCL, she left her job at 22 and joined the NGO “Parivartan”, run by Kejriwal and jailed AAP leader Manish Sisodia.

Maliwal has been associated with various campaigns and movements aimed at combating violence against women, advocating for stricter laws, and promoting gender equality.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Thursday also allowed party leader Sanjay Singh to sign re-nomination documents from jail. Sanjay Singh, a senior Aam Aadmi Party leader is an accused in a money laundering case related to the Excise policy case and was arrested on October 4, 2023, by the Enforcement Directorate.