Rakhi Birla, Pramila Tokas and Bhavana Gaur are among the front-runners for the post of deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly as AAP has begun the process of looking for a suitable woman candidate to replace Bandana Kumari.
On Saturday, Kumari had sent her resignation to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal taking moral responsibility of the party’s defeat in the MCD bypoll. The Shalimar Bagh MLA was unhappy over the party choosing Anvika Mittal as its candidate in the MCD bypolls. The party will choose a woman candidate in place of Kumari, sources said.
The party has six women legislators, two of whom--Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar) and Alka Lamba (Chandani Chowk) — are parliamentary secretaries. So, they are unlikely to be chosen for the post.
The sources said the party has to make a choice between Birla (Mangolpuri) and Gaur (Palam).
“Birla is a Dalit face and making her the Deputy Speaker could send a positive signal among Dalits.
So, her chances are very strong. Bhavana Gaur is also senior in terms of age. She is also active in the organisation,” a senior party leader said.
Tokas (Munirka) could also emerge as a dark horse but in the MCD bypoll the party candidate faced a drubbing in her constituency.However, a formal decision is yet to be taken.