AAP names ex-Congress leader Sushil Rinku as Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll candidate

Former Congress MLA Sushil Rinku on Thursday was named as the AAP's candidate for the upcoming Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, a day after he joined the ruling party in Punjab. Polling for the Jalandhar parliamentary seat will take place on May 10 and counting of votes will be done on May 13.

Rinku had joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday.

In a tweet, Mann on Thursday shared information about Rinku being named as the AAP candidate for the bypoll.

Rinku was earlier the Congress MLA from Jalandhar West. In the 2022 assembly polls, he was defeated by AAP's Sheetal Angural.

The Congress on Wednesday had expelled Rinku from the party for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities.

The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January.

The 76-year-old died after suffering a cardiac arrest during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalandhar's Phillaur.