Sources to the news agency PTI say that Jalandhar Aam Aadmi Party MP Sushil Rinku will join the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Reports also suggest that the AAP MP had certain issues with the party and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In relation to this, the CM met with him at a hotel on Tuesday, March 26.
Rinku became the Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar in Punjab last year after winning a bypoll there by a huge margin. He is the only AAP member in the outgoing Lok Sabha. A former Congress MLA, Rinku switched to the AAP on April 27, 2023, and a day later, he was declared the AAP candidate from the Jalandhar parliamentary constituency.
It is learnt that Rinku has been seeking financial support from the party for his campaign since the announcement of his candidature last week. The MP’s supporters have said that since it was his third election for the third consecutive year, he had certain demands regarding getting aid from the party.
Reports also suggest that the AAP's MLA Sheetal Angural will join the BJP with Sushil Kumar Rinku.