However, no decision has been made on the issue of his resignation. If the Speaker does not allow withdrawal, then there would be a byelection in his segment also. The AAP has fielded five ministers and three sitting MLAs, Congress has also fielded three MLAs. AAP imported a sitting Congress MLA, who resigned from the Assembly and was fielded by the ruling party. His resignation has however not been accepted.

Five cabinet ministers including Dr Balbir Singh, MLA from Patiala (rural), Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, MLA from Lambi, Laljit Singh Bhullar, MLA from Patti, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, MLA from Ajnala, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, MLA from Barnala. They contested from Patiala, Bathinda, Khadoor Sahib, Amritsar and Sangrur respectively.

The AAP’s three sitting MLAs including Ashok Parashar Pappi from Ludhiana (Central) contested from Ludhiana, Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi, MLA from Batala contested from Gurdaspur, Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar, MLA from Muktsar contested from Ferozepur. Sitting Congress MLA, Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, who jumped ship to AAP, contested from Hoshiarpur. Congress fielded Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, from Gurdaspur, Sukhpal Khaira, MLA from Bholath contested from Sangrur and Raja Warring, sitting MLA from Gidderbaha contested from Ludhiana.

The byelections would have to be organized within six months of vacating their constituency. The AAP has 92 members in Vidhan Sabha, the Congress has 18, Akalis have 3, BSP has one, BJP has two and one is an Independent. “If they all win, then there would be 12 byelections. If all five Cabinet ministers win, then there would have to be replacement of these ministers. It will be worth watching if the ruling party and opposition Congress are able to retain all their seats,” said a functionary.

It’s a make-or-break June 4 for five Punjab Cabinet ministers

The Lok Sabha election results, scheduled on June 4, would not only decide the fate of all candidates in fray but also of five AAP-led government’s Cabinet ministers, who had contested the June 1 parliamentary polls.

The AAP had fielded Health Minister Balbir Singh from Patiala Lok Sabha seat, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian from Bathinda, Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar from Khadoor Sahib, NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Amritsar and Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Sangrur parliamentary seat. in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.

These ministers now appear to be in a fix. If they win, they will lose their ministry in Punjab, as they will have to resign both as minister and MLA, and take oath as Lok Sabha member. And if they lose, then they risk losing face. “Nobody has told anyone that they will lose their state ministry if they lose the Lok Sabha election. But there is always a moral pressure. It would look really bad on those who lose. If the INDIA bloc wins and forms government at the Centre, then they could be accommodated in the Union ministry. But all five may not get berth,” said a functionary of the AAP.

The party had to bet on the ministers for want of senior leaders who could run the high-stakes Lok Sabha campaign. Also, a message had to be conveyed that the party seniors are leading from the front.

All eyes are now on these ministers, as the AAP hopes to get maximum Lok Sabha seats after seeking votes on the works done by the Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab. “Everybody is eagerly waiting for June 4 results and looking forward to their performance,” said another AAP leader.

Before throwing their (ministers) hat in the ring, the AAP had conducted several surveys in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab to select winnable candidates. These ministers were then asked to contest from their home districts. Laljit Singh Bhullar contested from Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh (Independent candidate). There have been reports of public support tilting the balance in Amritpal Singh’s favour.

Meet Hayer, who contested from Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency, took on Congress candidate Sukhpal Khaira, BJP’s Arvind Khanna, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Iqbal Singh Jhunda and SAD (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann, who is the sitting MP from Sangrur.

Bhagwant Mann had been a two-time MP from Sangrur. But the AAP lost the seat to SAD (Amritsar) candidate Simranjit Singh Mann in the bypoll necessitated after Bhagwant Mann vacated the seat after winning the Dhuri assembly constituency to become the CM.

Balbir Singh, an MLA from Patiala (rural), took on BJP’s Preneet Kaur, Congress’ Dharamvira Gandhi and SAD’s NK Sharma in Patiala Lok Sabha seat. Gurmeet Singh Khuddian took on SAD stalwart Harsimrat Kaur Badal in Bathinda parliamentary constituency.

Kuldeep Dhaliwal took on BJP’s Taranjit Sandhu, Congress’ GS Aujla, and SAD’s Anil Joshi in Amritsar Lok Sabha seat.

AAP leader who defected to BJP writes to Speaker, seeks to withdraw resignation as MLA

A day after the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab and two months after quitting as Jalandhar (West) MLA, former AAP leader Sheetal Angural has requested Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to allow him to withdraw his resignation.

Angural joined the BJP on March 27 along with Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, who had also resigned from the AAP.

Speaker Sandhwan confirmed to The Indian Express on Sunday that he had received a letter from Angural. A decision on his request will be taken later, he added.

Sources said the AAP would take a call on the development as the anti-defection law would come into effect with his resignation from the party.

Jalandhar was witness to a multi-cornered contest on June 1 among the Congress’s Charanjit Singh Channi, the BJP’s Sushil Kumar Rinku, the AAP’s Pawan Kumar Tinu and the SAD’s Mohinder Singh Kaypee. While joining BJP, Angural stated that he had been tired of the AAP.

A day after Angural defected to the BJP, pictures surfaced on social media showing him hugging Manish alias Mani Thakur of Jalandhar, an alleged kingpin of a UK-based drug cartel busted by Jalandhar police in March. Angural then said Mani Thakur had helped him with his campaign for the 2022 Assembly elections but went abroad 10 months before. “Now, I don’t know what he was doing after moving abroad. That is not my responsibility,” he had stated.

Angural has been in the midst of other controversies as well. He had cases of gambling, kidnapping and wrongfully confining a minor registered against him. He was also booked under Excise Act, Arms Act and the IT Act in different police stations in Jalandhar and Dera Bassi.

In January he was acquitted in the kidnapping case, where he was booked in 2020 along with others for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a 15-year-old boy. In December last year, he was acquitted in the gambling case.

In his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission before the 2022 Assembly polls, Angural said there were nine FIRs against him. These cases were registered under Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating) and the Arms Act.