Import from Congress Dr Raj Kumar Chhabewal from Hoshiarpur (SC) and Malvinder Singh Kang from Anandpur Sahib
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced its second list of two more candidates from Punjab for the June 1 Lok Sabha polls in the state, fielding former deputy legislative party leader of the Congress in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Dr Raj Kumar Chhabewal, who recently quit the grand old party and joined AAP, from Hoshiarpur (SC) constituency, and party’s state chief spokesman Malvinder Singh Kang from Anandpur Sahib.
With this the party now has candidates in places to nine of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. In its first list for Punjab, the party had named eight candidates, including five ministers in the Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government, but the repeat nominee from Jalandhar (SC) Sushil Kumar ‘Rinku’ had ditched the party to join the BJP. He is now the saffron party’s pick from the same seat.
The party is left to find a replacement for him for Jalandhar (SC), as well as finalise candidates for the remaining three constituencies – Gurdaspur, Ludhiana and Ferozepur.
Dr Raj Kumar Chhabewal, a medical practitioner and two time Congress MLA from Chhabewal (SC) assembly constituency (2017-2024) had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Hoshiarpur (SC) as a Congress candidate but lost to current Union minister of state Som Parkash of the BJP by over 48,500 votes.
For Malvinder Singh Kang, a former president of the Panjab University Chandigarh’s Students Council (2002-2004), this will be his first major elections outside of students’ politics. He had recently taken over as party incharge for the same constituency from which he will now be contesting as the party candidate.
BJP has also released its first list of six party candidates from Punjab.
The two other principal political parties, the Indian National Congress (INC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which have by turns ruled the state before AAP turned the tables on them with a massive-massive win in 2022, are apparently unsure of their ground in an atmosphere charged with intense speculations over leaders switching sides.
