E-Paper
Key member of Chaudhary clan, ex-MLA Surinder joins AAP
Surinder Singh, son of five-time MLA Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, is the nephew of Congress MP late Santokh Singh Chaudhary, whose death necessitated the Jalandhar bypoll
In a setback to the Congress, Chaudhary Surinder Singh, former Congress MLA and son of five-time MLA Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, joined Aam Aadmi Party in the presence of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Kartarpur on Monday.
Surinder is the nephew of Congress MP late Santokh Singh Chaudhary, whose death during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Joro Yatra on January 14 necessitated the Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection. Surinder remained MLA from the Kartarpur constituency from 2017-2022. He lost to AAP’s Balkar Singh in 2022 by 4,754 votes.
His aunt Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary is the Congress nominee for the byelection and till yesterday, Surinder was actively involved in campaigning for his aunt and attended several meetings related to byelection.
The Chaudhary clan has an almost 95-year-old association with the Congress party.
AAP kick offs campaign
CM Mann kicked off the party’s campaign and addressed a gathering in favour of party candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku, another Congressman, who joined AAP on April 5, at Kartarpur grain market, 18km from Jalandhar.
Surinder’s exodus caught Congress unaware. He joined AAP at the time when the top state leaders of Congress, including leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, state congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Himachal Pradesh deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri were campaigning in Jalandhar.
Moreover, this has also exposed the family feud within the Chaudhary family.
Welcoming Surinder into the party, CM Mann said his joining will pave the way for the party’s victory.
“Surinder’s family has made immense contributions to Punjab politics and served the state socially for generations. He was so impressed with AAP ideology that he told me that he is joining as a party volunteer and will abide by the job given to him by the party,” Mann said.
Meanwhile, Mann said the AAP government will continue to live up to the expectations of the people, who brought AAP into power in the state with a thumping majority in 2022. “We only need some time to fulfil all the promises made to people,” Mann said.
Meanwhile, Surinder said that the future of Punjab is safe in the hands of Mann.
“Mann and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal have fulfilled the promises made during assembly elections, and that has impressed me, and the people of Punjab,” Surinder said.
Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, who is Surinder’s cousin, didn’t respond to repeated calls.
Punjab Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring reacting to the development said, “Surinder is not a potential politician, who will dent Congress’ prospects in the bypoll. We are relieved that black sheep like Sushil Kumar Rinku and Surinder left the party.”
Chaudhary clan’s rich political legacy
The Chaudhary clan has a rich political legacy and is considered a key loyalist of Congress. The family has clout in the Dalit politics of the Doaba region and has been in electoral politics since 1936.
Surinder’s grandfather Master Gurbanta Singh was a seven-time MLA, and he last won an election in 1972 when he was elected unopposed. He had a close association with Dera Sachkhand Ballan, which is considered to have control over Dalit-dominated Jalandhar parliamentary constituency.
MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary is the family’s 16th representative in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
