AAP names Congress turncoat Sushil Kumar Rinku for Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll
The Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, scheduled for May 10, has been necessitated due to the demise of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday named former member of the legislative assembly (MLA) Sushil Kumar Rinku as its candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, scheduled to be held on May 10.
The announcement of his candidature came a day after Rinku joined the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of the party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Jalandhar. Rinku’s name was released by party general secretary organisation Dr Sandeep Pathak.
Rinku was the Congress MLA from Jalandhar West seat in the previous assembly. The party had expelled the leader for being in touch with AAP more than a month just hours prior to him joining the ruling party in the state, citing his alleged “anti-party activities”.
Rinku’s entry into the ruling party did not go down well with AAP’s Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural, who had defeated him with a margin of 4,200-odd votes in a close contest in the state polls last year. Angural was, however, placated by the party leaders and later offered to support Rinku in case he gets the party ticket.
The bypoll is especially crucial for the ruling AAP, which stormed to power in Punjab with 92 of the 117 assembly seats in March 2022 only to lose the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll a few months later.
The bypoll has been necessitated due to the demise of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary who died while participating in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Phillaur in January this year. The Congress has named his wife Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary as its nominee.
Counting of votes will take place on May 13.