Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday revealed the latest additions to its lineup for the June 1 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. Releasing its second list, AAP has announced two candidates — Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal – a former Congress MLA set to contest from Hoshiarpur reserved seat; and Malvinder Singh Kang – party’s chief spokesperson eyeing victory from Sri Anandpur Sahib constituency.
The list was shared in a post on ‘X’ by AAP’s national general secretary Sandeep Pathak. In the first list announced earlier, AAP had declared candidates for eight seats. However, its lone MP in the Lok Sabha Sushil Kumar Rinku, who was nominated by AAP from Jalandhar constituency, shifted loyalties towards BJP in a surprising move. Of the total 13 seats in Punjab, the state’s ruling party is yet to announce its candidates for four seats — Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, and Ferozepur.
Dr Chabbewal, two-time Congress MLA, had joined the AAP on March 15 and has now been nominated as a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. Dr Chabbewal had made headlines when he sprung a surprise by leaving the Congress, days after staging strong protests against the AAP Government during the Vidhan Sabha’s budget session, and joined AAP. Congress Legislative Party’s (CLP) deputy leader, Dr Chabbewal had received a warm welcome from the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The 54-year-old also resigned as MLA from the Chabbewal constituency in Hoshiarpur district. After joining the party, Chabbewal had said that he was impressed with the AAP Government’s “pro-people” policies, especially for the poor and the weaker sections.
A prominent Dalit leader of the Congress party, Dr Chabbewal is a doctor by profession. He had, in 2019, contested the Lok Sabha elections from Hoshiarpur constituency on Congress ticket, but lost to BJP’s Som Prakash, now the Union Minister.
The Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, and the BJP are yet to name their candidates from the reserved seat. While Congress is considering fielding former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from the reserved seat, BJP may once again lay its trust in Som Parkash.
Kang, the chief spokesperson of AAP’s Punjab unit, is one of the party’s most prominent faces in the state. He joined the AAP in July 2021, having quit the BJP in October 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. He was the state general secretary of the BJP and a prominent Sikh face in the party’s core committee. Kang has also been a two-time president of the Panjab University Students’ Council.
The Anandpur Sahib seat is currently represented by the Congress’ Manish Tewari. No other major party has announced their candidates for the seat.
In its first list of candidates, AAP named five Cabinet Ministers — Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Amritsar, Laljit Singh Bhullar from Khadoor Sahib, Gurmeet Singh Khudian from Bathinda, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Sangrur, and Dr Balbir Singh from Patiala. It had also nominated former Congress MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from Fatehgarh Sahib, and Punjabi actor and singer Karamjeet Anmol from Faridkot.
