Punjab LS polls: AAP fields turncoat Tinu from Jalandhar besides 3 MLAs

Batala MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi is AAP candidate from Gurdaspur, Muktsar MLA Jadeep Singh Kaka Brar from Ferozepur, and Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi from Ludhiana

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced the names of party candidates for the remaining four Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, replacing its turncoat MP, who left the party high and dry by defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with another turncoat in Jalandhar and fielding three sitting MLAs from Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, and Ferozepur.

Two-time former MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu being welcomed into the Aam Aadmi Party by chief minister Bhagwant Mann on April 14. Tinu, who was earlier with the Shiromani Akali Dal, was on Tuesday fielded from the Jalandhar reserved seat. (File photo)

The party has fielded two-time former MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu from Jalandhar reserved seat, Batala MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi from Gurdaspur, Muktsar MLA Jadeep Singh Kaka Brar from Ferozepur, and Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi from Ludhiana.

The third list of candidates released by AAP’s national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak completes the party’s line-up for the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, making it the first frontline political party to name all its candidates in the state.

There is no woman candidate on the list.

Tinu, a prominent Dalit leader, had joined the AAP on April 14 from the Shiromani Akali Dal. He has been fielded in place of Jalandhar’s sitting MP Sushil Kumar Rinku whose name was announced by the party from the same seat on March 14, but he switched to the BJP on March 27.

Tinu is a former two-time MLA from Adampur, and he will now take on Rinku who is the BJP’s nominee in Jalandhar. Rinku was also a turncoat as he had joined the AAP from the Congress in April 2023 ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.

Sherry Kalsi, Kaka Brar, and Ashok Parashar Pappi are all first-time MLAs of the party. With these three, the total number of sitting MLAs fielded by the AAP has gone to nine, including five cabinet ministers.

Parashar is the lone Hindu face fielded by the party.

The other candidates are NRI affairs minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal from Amritsar, transport minister Laljit Bhullar from Khadoor Sahib, sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Sangrur, agriculture minister Gurmeet Khudian from Bathinda, health minister Dr Balbir Singh from Patiala, former MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from Fatehgarh Sahib, Malvinder Singh Kang from Anandpur Sahib, Chabbewal MLA Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal and actor Karamjeet Anmol from Faridkot.