Chandigarh: Former cricketer in the Indian national team Harbhajan Singh and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and co-incharge of the political affairs in Punjab Raghav Chadha are among the five people nominated by the AAP for the March 31 Rajya Sabha polls.The other nominees are Ashok Mittal, founder of the Phagwara-based Lovely Professional University (LPU); Sandeep Pathak, an assistant professor at IIT, Delhi; and Sanjeev Arora, a Ludhiana-based textile businessman.All five party nominees filed their nomination papers at the Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh.The terms of five Rajya Sabha members from Punjab – Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Shiromani Akali Dal; SAD), Partap Singh Bajwa (Congress), Shwait Malik (Bhartiya Janata Party; BJP), Naresh Gujral (SAD) and Shamsher Singh Dullo (Congress) – will expire on April 9.All the five candidates are set to be elected to the upper house of Parliament since the AAP swept the recently-concluded assembly election in the state, winning 92 of the 117 seats.After filing his papers, Singh said he will strive to take sports forward.Reacting to a ‘probable’ list of the party’s Rajya Sabha nominees which contained the names of Singh, Chadha and Pathak, Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira took to Twitter to allege “discrimination”.If this list of probable Rajya Sabha candidates by @AamAadmiParty is true its most saddening news for Punjab n will be the first discrimination for our state.We’ll oppose tooth n nail any non punjabi being nominated.This is also a joke with Aap workers who have worked fr d party pic.twitter.com/w7svk6H0iS— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) March 21, 2022Similarly, SAD leader Harcharan Bains criticised the AAP for the caste and religious background of its Rajya Sabha nominees:A lot was said about @AAPPunjab respecting caste & religious sensitivies in cabinet formation. While this criterion is debatable, but if it was applied, then what abt AAP’s Rajya Sabha faces? 4 Hindus,2 of them non-Punjabis & one Sikh. No Jatt, no Dalit, no Muslim or Christian.— Harcharan Bains (@Harcharan_Bains) March 21, 2022Also Read: Punjab Elections: Half of Winning Candidates Have Criminal Cases; 74% Are CrorepatisThe last date for filing nominations is Monday and the nominations will be scrutinised on Tuesday, according to an official release.The last date for withdrawal of candidature has been fixed as March 24.The elections to fill 13 Rajya Sabha seats across six states will be held on March 31, as will the counting of votes. The election shall be completed before April 2.(PTI)