Jalandhar bypoll win: Kartarpur MLA Balkar reaps Doaba dividends

Balkar said he is thankful to AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann for making him a part of the state cabinet

With the induction of Kartarpur MLA Balkar Singh as a local government minister, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made its intentions of nurturing the gains of the recently held Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll clear. With Balkar’s elevation to a minister, Jalandhar now has four members of parliament, including three Rajya Sabha MPs and one Lok Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, directly associated with the constituency, which was once considered a Congress citadel.

Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Balkar Singh as cabinet minister of the state at Punjab Raj Bhavan, in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Three Rajya Sabha MPs include noted environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, ace cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Ashok Mittal, chancellor of Lovely professional university, making Jalandhar a dominant force in power corridors.

AAP had other leaders, including Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural and Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora, but Balkar’s elevation was the result of the party’s performance in his assembly segment in the Lok Sabha bypoll, said a party insider, who didn’t wish to be named.

Rinku managed to secure the lead of 10,682 votes from Balkar’s Kartarpur constituency while sitting Jalandhar Central saw BJP taking a lead of 546 votes. In Jalandhar West, Rinku got a lead of 9,467 votes.

Balkar said he is thankful to AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann for making him a part of the state cabinet.

“It is a big responsibility, and I will work hard with all honesty,” Balkar said.

With Balkar’s promotion, AAP has also ticked another box of promoting another prominent Dalit leader in caste-dominant Doaba politics. Rinku’s landslide victory with a margin of 58,692 votes had projected him as a new Dalit face in the constituency.