Senior Punjab Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa launched a scathing attack on the BJP on Sunday, accusing the party of failing to nominate its own members as candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Randhawa’s criticism followed the BJP’s announcement of its initial list of six candidates for Punjab, which included three defectors – Preneet Kaur, Sushil Kumar Rinku, and Ravneet Singh Bittu – along with former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Additionally, the list featured singer and MP from North West Delhi, Hans Raj Hans, and former MLA Dinesh Singh Babbu.
Expressing his discontentment with the BJP’s candidate selection process, Randhawa stated, “On one hand, the BJP has given a slogan of ‘ab ki baar 400 paar’ and on the other hand, it has not been able to find its own party members who can be fielded for fighting from Punjab.”
Randhawa criticized the BJP for fielding candidates who had previously belonged to other political parties, not only in Punjab but also in Haryana.
He specifically pointed out the candidature of Preneet Kaur from Patiala, Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar, and Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana, all of whom had recently switched allegiance to the BJP from other parties.
Preneet Kaur, a four-time MP and former Union minister, joined the BJP earlier this month after being suspended by the Congress last year. Similarly, Sushil Kumar Rinku, who had briefly been associated with the AAP, joined the BJP just days before being nominated as a candidate. Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, also made the switch to BJP after his tenure with the Congress.
Randhawa’s remarks underscored the growing tensions between the Congress and BJP as the Lok Sabha elections approach, with the selection of candidates becoming a focal point of contention.