INDIA VOTES 2024; Arch-rivals Sushil Rinku, Sheetal Angural turn buddies

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, March 27

Almost every city resident knows Jalandhar MP Sushil Rinku and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural to be arch-rivals. When they joined the BJP together quitting the AAP this evening, it was a moment of disbelief for everyone. The immediate perception was that the duo would continue to clash even in the BJP. In reality, the two decade-old rivalry has seen a sudden change of hearts.

‘Protest makes no sense’

Congress leader Dr Navjot Dahiya said: “I really wonder why the AAP leadership is making hue and cry and protesting over the shifting of AAP sitting MP and MLA to the BJP. The AAP already is into rampant poaching. They just did it with Congress MLA Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal. Their MP Rinku was also poached from the Congress. The party, which itself is into pulling leaders from other parties, should not be protesting on the streets like this.”

‘Operation Lotus was a fake mission’

On the day Angural rejoined the BJP, he alleged that the AAP had orchestrated “Mission Operation Lotus”. “It was a fake mission for which AAP leaders had made us speak up against the BJP under much pressure. I will expose it all shortly,” he said.

“Sushil Rinku is my elder brother and will get his due respect from me. This time, I am not saying this under any pressure. It is coming straight from my heart. There had been people who never wanted us to come together and they kept us engaged in one tiff after the other. Now, it has been a month since we have been meeting one another, clarified to each other on all issues and have developed a thorough understanding,” said Angural with his close aide maintaining that they had both joined with a tacit understanding.

“The plan is that Angural will resign from the post of MLA tomorrow. Once he does that, the elections for the Jalandhar West bypoll too could be notified. If that happens, Rinku will contest for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat from the BJP, while Angural will contest for Jalandhar West bypoll. Both will help and support each other in the elections and there will be no issue of clash of their interests,” said a Jalandhar-based BJP leader.

BJP state president Sunil Jakhar too hinted that this plan had been worked out. If the bypoll gets notified, all parties, including AAP, Congress, SAD and the BSP, will also have to immediately start hunting for their candidate from Jalandhar West. The Congress has not appointed even a halqa in charge from the constituency since Rinku had left the party.

Meanwhile, former councillor and wife of MP Sushil Rinku - Sunita Rinku - was made to join the BJP locally. BJP leader Amit Taneja confirmed this.

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