The Aam Aadmi Party( AAP) on Saturday won the Jalandhar Lok Sabha Byelection 2023 with its candidate Sushil Rinku defeating others by a massive margin of 58,000 votes. Sushil Rinku secured a total of 302279 votes as per the Election Commission and due to which AAP's percentage of votes was 34.05. However, the Election Commission of India is yet to announce its formal decision, it is expected that the numbers will slightly change but Sushil Rinku will remain the winner. The voting for the Jalandhar Byelection 2023 took place on May 10, with a total voter turnout of 54.70 percent. Sushil Rinku not only won the Jalandhar byelection 2023 but also broke the Congress stronghold. Congress was unbeatable in the Jalandhar constituency since 2004. For the 2023 Jalandhar Bypolls, Congress had fielded Karamjit Kaur as its official candidate. Karamjit Kaur is the wife of the late Santokh Singh Chaudhary who was previously the MP of Jalandhar constituency from 2014. Notably, it was the death of MP Chaudhary during Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra which opened doors for the Jalandhar By-Election 2023. With Jalandhar By-election 2023 results finally out, the question arises who is Sushil Rinku- the AAP Candidate who broke the Congress stronghold after so many years? To know the answer continue reading-
Who is Sushil Rinku?
Sushil Rinku is a former Congress MLA who jumped ship days before the Jalandhar Byelection 2023. A day after Sushil Rinku joined AAP, the party announced him as its official candidate for the Jalandhar Bypolls 2023. Coming to his political career, Sushil is a veteran of politics. He was an active member of NSUI in 1990. In 1992, during by-cot of elections by Akali Dal, Sushil Kumar Rinku prepared youth for elections and also worked as booth level worker. It suggests that Sushil Rinku started from the ground and today is broke the Congress fort in Jalandhar.
Now, let's go back in time once again. It was in the year 1994 that Sushil Kumar Rinku was elected as President of Shri Guru Ravidas's cultural Society at D.A.V College Jalandhar. Sushil Kumar Rinku has worked as a booth-level worker for Youth Congress. Sushil Kumar Rinku in 2002, worked as a level worker for Lok Sabha Elections. In 2006, he was elected as Municipal Councilor and won by 2500 votes. Before joining AAP, he was an ex-MLA of Jalandhar West.
Sushil Rinku's family background
Sushil Rinku's family served the Indian National Congress for around 45 years. His uncle and father served in almost every assembly and parliament election. During the emergency in 1977, his entire family was imprisoned for supporting Indian National Congress. Talking about Sushil Rinku's educational qualification, Sushil Rinku did his schooling at D.S.S.D School Basti Nau Jalandhar and Graduation from DAV College Jalandhar.
'History': AAP breaks Congress' stronghold, Sushil Rinku wins Jalandhar Lok Sabha Byelection 2023
Sushil Rinku's success story from Councillor to MLA to MP
Notably, Sushil Rinku's image as a 'mass leader' and his portfolio show that he rose up from ground level. In 2006, Sushil Rinku was elected as Municipal Councilor and won by 2500 votes. Before winning the Jalandhar Bypolls, Sushil Rinku was serving as the MLA of Jalandhar West. Now, having won the Jalandhar Lok Sabha Byelection 2023, Sushil Rinku has now become a Member of Parliament (MP).
What does Sushil Rinku's victory mean for the AAP?
The Jalandhar Byelection was vital for the AAP as Doaba was considered the fort of Congress in Punjab. In the last election, Congress had performed well in Doaba. In fact, out of 9 seats of the Jalandhar constituency, 5 were won by the Congress party. As Sushil Rinku has finally won the Jalandhar Bypolls 2023, factors like free power which was given to 87 percent of the people, a crackdown on corruption, transparency in government jobs, and installation of mohalla clinics which is the basic package of essential health services including medicines, diagnostics, and consultation free of cost have won the voters. Having lost the Sangrur seat, the victory in Jalandhar Bypolls once again shows that the people of Punjab have faith in the Bhagwant Mann-led government. Not only this, AAP has also got a Dalit face in the region of Doaba where 42 percent of people belong to the Dalit Community. This might also favour the AAP in the upcoming 2024 General Elections.