Sushil Rinku, the Member of Parliament for Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency, announced his departure from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and subsequently affiliated himself with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His decision was made public during an event on Wednesday at the party headquarters, attended by BJP’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar.

In addition to Rinku’s move, Sheetal Angural, the MLA representing Jalandhar West for AAP, also switched allegiance and joined the BJP.

Rinku had already announced as the AAP candidate from Jalandhar. AAP leaders tried to speak to him to persuade him to stay. However, the talks did not materialise. Rinku was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 58,691 votes in a bypoll in 2023.