BJP Announces Candidates For Punjab Parliamentary And Odisha Assembly Bypolls

The BJP has nominated Sardar Indar Singh Atwal for the Jalandhar (SC) bypoll and Tankadhar Tripathy for the Jharsuguda bypoll.

BJP supporters carrying party flags

Source : PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced its candidates for the upcoming Parliamentary and Assembly bypolls in Punjab and Odisha respectively. By-elections are set to be held in the Lok Sabha district of Jalandhar (SC) in Punjab and the Assembly district of Jharsuguda in Odisha on May 10. The results will be announced on May 13, coinciding with the Assembly elections in Karnataka. The BJP has nominated Sardar Indar Singh Atwal for the Jalandhar (SC) bypoll and Tankadhar Tripathy for the Jharsuguda bypoll.

The party's Central Election Committee announced both names on Wednesday evening.

भारतीय जनता पार्टी की केन्द्रीय चुनाव समिति ने पंजाब में होने वाले एक लोकसभा उप-चुनाव और ओडिशा के एक विधानसभा उप-चुनाव के लिए निम्नलिखित नामों पर अपनी स्वीकृति प्रदान की है। pic.twitter.com/dZ6K0DPPy3

— BJP (@BJP4India) April 12, 2023

Sardar Indar Singh Atwal joined the BJP on April 9 this year. He was earlier a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He is also the son of former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Atwal. Atwal whose nickname is Rinku will be fighting against his “namesake” AAP candidate Sushil Rinku.

Sushil Rinku on April 5 in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hours after being expelled from Congress. Rinku, a former Congress MLA from the Jalandhar West constituency, was dismissed from the party by the Congress party for engaging in "anti-party" actions.

Since January 14, the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency remained vacant following the demise of Congress MP Santokh Chaudhary during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Congress announced the name of Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, wife of Santokj Chaudhary as the candidate for Jalandhar bypolls while Tankadhar will be contesting against BJD's Dipali Das.

The bypoll in Odisha's Jharsuguda was necessitated post the murder of Naba Das, the then state health minister, by a policeman at point-blank range in broad daylight on January 29 this year.