AAP fields Chabbewal from Hoshiarpur seat

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Hoshiarpur, April 2

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded former MLA Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency. In a major jolt, Dr Chabbewal had suddenly bid goodbye to the Congress and joined the AAP. Since then, there was speculation that AAP would make Dr Chabbewal its candidate.

A radiologist by profession, Dr Chabbewal has done his MBBS and MD (Radiodiagnosis). He was elected from the Chabbewal (reserved) Assembly constituency twice in 2017 and 2022 on the Congress ticket and was known for his innovative ways of protesting and demonstrating against the AAP government. Recently, he resigned as an MLA and also the primary membership of the Congress and joined AAP.

Apart from being an MLA from Chabbewal, he has been the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress SC Cell for years. He contested the Assembly elections for the first time in 2012, but lost to SAD. In 2017, the Congress again fielded him and he was elected. In the 2019 General elections, he was the Congress candidate from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency, but faced defeat at the hands of BJP’s Som Prakash.

Dr Chabbewal was known for staying away from VIP culture and getting the foundation stone laid and functions inaugurated by elders and young girls in villages. The AAP has delivered a big blow to the Congress by bringing in Dr Chabbewal because he was considered to be the Congress candidate for the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency. Although he had expressed his reluctance to contest the elections to the party high command, there was talk of the party fielding him for sure.

In the last Assembly session, he was in the news for protesting against the AAP government, carrying a bale depicting the burden of debt on his head and then wearing chains and protesting in the House and outside against the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab.

About a week later, he suddenly joined AAP and held a press conference praising the state government, saying he had joined AAP unconditionally, being impressed by the policies and performance of the state government. The Congress camp was shocked and the party had to intensify its task of looking for alternative names of candidates.