BJP leader Mohinder Bhagat joins AAP ahead of Jalandhar LS bypoll

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, BJP leader Mohinder Paul Bhagat joined the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Friday.

Bhagat, a leader from Jalandhar, is the son of Bhagat Chuni Lal, who was a minister in the erstwhile SAD-BJP government. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann welcomed Bhagat into the AAP fold, the party said in a statement. Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural and AAP Punjab general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat were also present on the occasion.

With Bhagat's joining, the AAP has gained more strength in Jalandhar, the party claimed.

Recently, Sushil Kumar Rinku, crossed over to the AAP from the Congress and is contesting the parliamentary by-election as the ruling party's candidate. The Congress has fielded Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary while BJP has named Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, who quit the Akali Dal to join the party recently, as its candidate for the bypoll to Jalandhar.

The Lok Sabha bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary (76) in January. He died after he suffered a cardiac arrest during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalandhar's Phillaur.

The polling for the seat will take place on May 10 while counting will be held on May 13.