AAP reveals all 13 cards in Punjab, but no ‘queen’

Tribune News Service

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, April 16

The Aam Aadmi Party today fielded its three sitting MLAs and a political turncoat for the Lok Sabha poll. With today’s announcement, the ruling party has declared its candidates for all 13 Lok Sabha seats.

Four more contestants named

Ashok Prashar Pappi
Ludhiana
He joined AAP in 2016 to again leave the party for the Congress as he did not get the AAP ticket in the 2017 Assembly elections. He re-joined the AAP before the 2022 poll. He is the only Hindu face to have been fielded by the party.

Amansher Sherry Kalsi
Gurdaspur
Was chosen as the party candidate on the basis of internal polls conducted by the party. He was an aspirant for the AAP ticket from Batala in 2017, but then party chief Gurpreet Singh Waraich Ghuggi had contested from the seat.

Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar
Ferozepur
Has been active in AAP for the past decade. He had unsuccessfully contested the poll on the AAP ticket from Muktsar in 2017 as well. He is an agriculturist and has remained a municipal councillor from Muktsar civic body.

Pawan Kumar Tinu
Jalandhar
Is a prominent Dalit leader from Jalandhar (reserved). Tinu began his political journey with the BSP, but switched over to the Akali Dal before the 2012 Assembly election. He was twice elected as a legislator on the SAD ticket.

The party has chosen Pawan Kumar Tinu, a two-time former MLA, who jumped the ship from SAD to AAP on Sunday, as its candidate from Jalandhar. He will be pitted against former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi and former AAP MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, who switched over to the BJP after his name as the AAP candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat was announced, leaving AAP red-faced.

Ashok Prashar Pappi, MLA from Ludhiana Central, has been fielded from Ludhiana, Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi, Batala MLA, from Gurdaspur and Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar, MLA from Muktsar, has been fielded from Ferozepur. All three candidates bear the stamp of being Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s choice. However, the party has not fielded a single woman candidate in the poll. With women having 47.4 per cent vote share and with the highest number of women MLAs (11 were elected from AAP), the party has not maintained a gender balance.

AAP, which swept to power, winning 92 of the 117 seats in 2022, has fielded five of its ministers - Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (Sangrur), Gurmeet Singh Khuddian (Bathinda) Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (Amritsar), Dr Balbir Singh (Patiala) and Laljit Singh Bhullar (Khadoor Sahib). It has also earlier given tickets to two other political turncoats - Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal (a sitting Congress MLA, who has resigned from the Congress to join AAP last month) and Gurpreet Singh GP (a former Congress MLA, who joined AAP last month).

Only one political greenhorn Karamjit Anmol (Faridkot candidate) has been fielded by the party, while Malvinder Singh Kang has risen from student politics.

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