Two Congress MPs Preneet Kaur and Ravneet Bittu and the sole AAP MP Sushil Rinku and an AAP MLA Sheetal Angural have recently joined BJP.
In what appears to be a season of turncoats especially in Punjab, three MPs and an MLA from this border state have recently switched their sides ahead of parliamentary elections.
Two Congress MPs Preneet Kaur and Ravneet Bittu and the sole AAP MP Sushil Rinku and an AAP MLA Sheetal Angural have recently joined BJP after leaving their respective parties.
There are speculations that some more politicians may switch their sides before the general elections.
The ruling AAP suffered a significant blow as two of its leaders defected to BJP on Wednesday. Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural crossed over to the saffron party.
Interestingly, Rinku has changed his parties twice in less than a year. He left Congress to join AAP before Jalandhar bypoll in 2023 and now he left AAP to join the saffron party.
Rinku’ recent move, which followed weeks of intense speculation, put AAP on the defensive.
A few days earlier, Congress MPs Ravneet Bittu (from Ludhiana) and Preneet Kaur (from Patiala) joined BJP on different dates. While late Punjab CM Beant Singh’s grandson Bittu’s move to join BJP came as a surprise, whereas Preneet Kaur’s move to join BJP was on expected lines as his husband former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had joined the saffron party a few years ago.
In an apparent retaliation to the defections, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa took to social media platform X, posting, “He took one of ours, they took two of his.
@BhagwantMann ji, the pit you have dug in our way, you yourself have now fallen in that well,” seemingly referring to the ‘yaar mera titlian varga’ (my friend is like butterflies) jibe made against Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira by CM Bhagwant Mann during the budget session of the assembly.
Responding to the defections, CM Mann also took to ‘X’ with a cryptic post aimed at Rinku and Angural. AAP released a statement asserting that Mann had taken a dig at the two leaders who left the party to join a larger political entity, reaffirming his commitment to safeguarding Punjab’s glory and honour.
The leader of opposition in Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa in another post on ‘X’, stated “The @AAPPunjab govt to take legal action as its claims about Operation Lotus have been proven to be true. It has been crying about Operation Lotus since September 2022. It also talked about getting a probe on the done on the issue. The Punjab Chief Minister, @BhagwantMann, who also holds the Home Portfolio must explain why has the investigation on the issue not been concluded after 18 months. Now CM Mann is calling the Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku and Sheetal Angural traitors. Was not Sushil Rinku a traitor when he left Congress for AAP last year?”
Amidst these political maneuvers, the BJP in Punjab continues its aggressive campaign strategy under the leadership of Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar. Interestingly, both Punjab former CM Amarinder Singh and former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar also joined BJP a few years ago.
Anyway, now breaking free from past alliances, the BJP is aggressively recruiting prominent figures from rival parties, disregarding past loyalties and causing uproar among its adversaries.
Since joining the BJP, Jakhar has been assembling his own team. The state BJP executive committee, under his leadership, includes several former Congress members. According to a party official, “Many Sikh representatives in the committee have a Congress background, aiding the BJP in projecting a secular image in the public.”
Punjab BJP chief Jakhar has expressed admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives benefiting Punjab. “Modi facilitated the Kartarpur corridor, ensured fair procurement of agricultural produce, and commemorated Veer Bal Diwas to honor Guru Gobind Singh’s sons. His dedication to Punjab is evident, and we must support his endeavors,” he reiterated, emphasising the BJP’s decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections independently.
In December 2021, the BJP welcomed ex-Congress MLA Fateh Jang Bajwa, the brother of Opposition Leader Partap Singh Bajwa, into its fold. Fateh contested the 2022 Assembly elections from Batala as a BJP candidate but had to satisfy with fourth place.
Harjot Kamal Singh, a former Congress MLA from Moga and Punjab BJP secretary, joined BJP before the 2022 Assembly polls after being denied a Congress ticket. He contested the 2022 elections from Moga under the BJP banner, finishing fourth like Fateh.
Additionally, the state BJP’s core committee comprises several former Congress leaders, including ex-MLAs Arvind Khanna and Kewal Dhillon, and former ministers Manpreet Singh Badal and Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi.
Khanna left the Congress in January 2022 and contested unsuccessfully as a BJP candidate from Sangrur. Dhillon joined the BJP in June and was nominated for the Sangrur parliamentary bypoll, where he got fourth place.
Manpreet Badal, currently under vigilance inquiry for allegedly converting commercial plots into residential ones during his tenure as finance minister, joined the BJP in January 2023.
Various other Congress defectors, such as former MLAs Balbir Singh Sidhu, Raj Kumar Verka, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, and Sunder Shyam Arora, joined BJP in June 2022.
However, all except Arora returned to Congress in October last year.
Furthermore, BJP boasts former SAD leaders among its ranks. Kanwarveer Singh Tohra, the grandson of former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra, leads the state’s BJP youth wing. He contested from Amloh Assembly seat in 2022 but lost as a BJP candidate.
Jagdeep Singh Nakai, a former SAD MLA, is presently the state BJP vice-president. In 2022, Mohinder Kaur Josh, a three-time MLA and former SAD leader, also joined the BJP.
Known for its strategic acumen and aggressive campaigning, the BJP is meticulously selecting top contenders from all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, signaling a seismic shift in the state’s political landscape.
Among its recent conquests is Ravneet Singh Bittu, a three-time Congress MP from Ludhiana, known for his vocal opposition to the BJP. Despite his familial legacy and previous electoral victories, Bittu faced an uphill battle this time due to rising Hindu revivalism in his constituency, where Congress suffered a clean sweep in last Assembly elections.
Adding fuel to the fire, Preneet Kaur, the wife of Amarinder Singh and a Congress Lok Sabha member, has defected to the BJP and is poised to contest from her stronghold in Patiala. Speculation is rife about BJP’s relentless pursuit of other high-profile candidates with significant public appeal.
With BJP sparing no effort in its aggressive recruitment drive, more surprises are expected before the nomination deadline for the upcoming elections. Punjab braces itself for a political showdown as the state heads to the polls on June one.