New Delhi: Ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Aam Aadmi Party Lok Sabha member Sushil Kumar Rinku joined the BJP on Wednesday, March 27. Rinku is likely to contest the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket after joining the party.
Along with Rinku, Punjab MLA Sheetal Angural also joined the saffron camp. This comes at a time when the Aam Aadmi Party is already facing a crisis following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Rinku and Angural, who was elected to the Punjab Assembly from Jalandhar West, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar.
Rinku became the Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar in Punjab last year after winning a bypoll there with a huge margin. He is the only AAP member in the outgoing Lok Sabha. A former Congress MLA, Rinku had switched to the AAP on April 27, 2023, and a day later, was declared the AAP candidate from the Jalandhar parliamentary constituency.
Rinku Slams AAP
Rinku, the MP from Jalandhar, said he decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the development of Punjab, especially Jalandhar, and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state of not helping him in development endeavours in his constituency.
"I have taken this decision for the development of Jalandhar. We will take Jalandhar forward. We will bring all the projects of the Central Government to Jalandhar," said Rinku.
"It is true that the promises I made to the people of Jalandhar were not fulfilled because my party (AAP) did not support me. I am impressed with the working style of PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he added.
Major Gain For BJP Ahead of Lok Sabha Polls
The BJP is likely to field him in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as it inducts a number of influential leaders from different political parties in Punjab to emerge as a strong force in the state that has 13 parliamentary constituencies.
Puri and Tawde said the joining of the AAP leaders will boost the BJP following its decision to go it alone in Punjab, which is set to a witness a four-cornered poll contest, with the AAP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal being the three other main forces.
Jakhar slammed the AAP, alleging that the excise scam in Punjab is many times bigger that the one in Delhi in which Kejriwal has been arrested. The AAP has failed to fulfil its promises made to people, the BJP leader said.
Three-term Congress MP from Punjab Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the BJP on Tuesday and asserted that people have made up their mind to elect Modi to power again.
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