AAP picks eight names for Punjab; 5 Cabinet ministers among them

AAP picks eight names for Punjab; 5 Cabinet ministers among them

Chandigarh: Choosing to play it safe in the hands of elected MLAs, with the party lacking established leadership base in Punjab, the first list of eight Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, released today, included five ministers.

The ministers included Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (Sangrur), Dr Balbir Singh (Patiala), Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (Amritsar), Laljit Singh Bhullar (Khadoor Sahib) and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian (Bathinda). The three others were Sushil Rinku (Jalandhar reserved), Karamjit Anmol (Faridkot reserved) and Gurpreet Singh GP (Fatehgarh Sahib reserved).

Rinku had shifted to the AAP before the Jalandhar by-election in 2023, while Gurpreet Singh GP recently joined the AAP. Both were former Congress MLAs. Sports and Youth Services Minister, Hayer’s name was included in the list right after the elections were announced. Two-time MLA from Barnala, Hayer is a well-established name for his contribution to sports. Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education and Research, Dr Balbir Singh is well-known for his commitment to medical and social services. He won the 2022 assembly elections with a whooping margin of over 50,000 votes.

Minister for NRI Affairs, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal gave up his US citizenship before joining politics. Riding on the AAP wave, he had won the 2022 assembly election from Ajnala assembly seat.

Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian defeated former CM and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal in the latter’s home turf, Lambi.

Minister for Transport, the 42-year-old Laljit Singh Bhullar defeated big leaders Adeshpartap Singh Kairon of the SAD and Harminder Singh Gill of the Congress in the 2022 election.

Sitting MP Sushil Rinku (48) from the Jalandhar (reserved) seat is a former Congress MLA. Shifting his camp to the AAP before the by-elections last year, he trounced Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, wife of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, whose demise had necessitated by-poll for the parliamentary seat in 2023.

The 52-year-old Punjabi actor Karamjeet Anmol, a close confidante of CM Bhagwant Mann since his days on the stage and screen, has been fielded from Faridkot. Anmol is a well-known face of Punjab singing and acting industry.

Gurpreet Singh GP, who joined AAP recently, won the assembly election from Bassi Pathana as a Congress candidate in 2017. In the 2022, he lost to AAP’s Rupinder Singh.

Inside sources said the party leadership was still not clear about the names for three seats. Malwinder Singh Kang is seen as the front-runner for the party ticket from Anandpur Sahib.