AAP bets on Rinku again to retain Jalandhar LS seat

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, March 14

Sitting Aam Aadmi Party MP from Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency Sushil Rinku will be facing a second electoral test from the same area in a span of less than a year as the party has chosen to hedge its bets on him again for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Ever since he contested the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll in May last year, Rinku did not get time to settle down as he knew that he had just 10 months to prove himself before the 16.17 lakh voters of the constituency. Being the lone Lok Sabha MP of the party, Rinku had to often shuttle between Jalandhar and Delhi attending various party events and protests.

He remained in news during the Monsoon Session of Parliament last year when he was suspended for tearing papers in the well of the House and throwing them towards Speaker Om Birla. He held a long protest outside the Parliament then wearing chains around himself.

Having remained a boxer in his earlier years, Rinku has been known for holding demonstrations even during his stint as a councillor. He was a member of the Dynamic Group, formed against his own ruling party Congress in the MC House in 2012. In Congress, Rinku started his career as a councillor from his ward in Basti Danishmandan in 2006 in an MC bypoll after the demise of his father, who was also a councillor. His wife Sunita Rinku too had remained councillor in 2007 and 2017. He became an MLA from Jalandhar West in 2017 but lost in 2022. He switched from Congress to AAP last year to contest the parliamentary bypoll and won it.

Being the lone sitting Lok Sabha MP of the party, Rinku’s candidature was being expected much earlier. It was everyone’s guess that his name could be announced during the recent visit of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal to Jalandhar. But it finally came today in the list of the first eight candidates.

With his candidature announced yet again, all eyes will be on how his arch-rival within the party and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural reacts to the development. Angural, in his video post on FB a few months back, had challenged Rinku to contest again from Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency.

HIS CLAIM TO VICTORY

• Stoppage of Vande Bharat train in Jalandhar and launch of Adampur airport terminal.
• Getting works of ROBs, RUBs streamlined.
• Taking up issues of Punjab in Parliament including delay in getting RDF funds and NHM funds from the Centre
• Renaming of airport after Guru Ravidass