The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made history yesterday by winning the Jalandhar by-poll election with a landslide victory. Following the win, the new MP-elect Shri Sushil Kumar Rinku met with AAP National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal to seek his guidance and discuss plans for serving the people of Punjab in Lok Sabha. The MP elect arrived at the Delhi CM’s residence this morning. Punjab CM Sardar Bhagwant Mann, AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Shri Sanjay Singh and Dr Ashok Mittal were also present during the meeting.
After the meeting, Shri Sushil Kumar Rinku addressed the media. He expressed his gratitude towards the AAP National Convenor, saying, “it was under Shri Arvind Kejriwal Ji’s guidance that we were able to win the bypoll in Jalandhar.” He also talked about the role of Punjab’s Chief Minister, Sardar Bhagwant Mann, and credited the people-centric developmental work in Punjab over the past year for their success in Jalandhar.
The MP-elect highlighted that his constituency, Jalandhar, is undergoing construction work on several flyovers and roads that need to be expedited. He also mentioned how progress of the Adampur airport had abruptly stopped, and said that he plans to prioritise addressing these issues in Lok Sabha.
Shri Sushil Kumar Rinku acknowledged that his term as a Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar is only 11 months but emphasised that the AAP’s vision for the constituency extends beyond just this current term. “Although I have been elected for a short period, AAP’s roadmap for the constituency will be both for my current term and the longer term, we are going to work while keeping the next five years in mind” he concluded.
This victory is particularly significant as the Aam Aadmi Party had won 92 seats in Punjab last year, forming the government with a tremendous wave of support. However, the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat comprises 9 assembly constituencies, and despite the wave, AAP was only able to win 4 out of the 9 assembly seats, while the Congress secured 5. But, this time around, the Aam Aadmi Party has triumphed in 7 out of those 9 assembly constituencies. In the previous assembly elections, AAP had garnered 42% of the votes across Punjab. In Jalandhar, it had initially received only 28% of the votes, but in this election, it has risen to 34%.
