As Punjab is slated to witness a multi-cornered contest this time in its 13 Lok Sabha (LS) constituencies, political parties, despite strongly condemning their own deserters, have given tickets to at least 21 party-hoppers — colloquially known as ‘Fasli Bater’ or ‘Dal Badlu’ — at the cost of resentment among their committed cadre.

In what can be termed as political opportunism at its best, as many as eight politicians, including three sitting MPs, shifted their allegiance to the new political outfits during the last two months to confirm their nominations for the parliamentary elections.

These include sitting MPs Sushil Kumar Rinku (Jaland har), Preneet Kaur (Patiala) and Ravneet Singh Bittu (Ludhiana). Parties have also fielded former MPs Dr Dharamvira Gandhi (Patiala) and Mohinder Singh Kaypee (Jalandhar), sitting MLA Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal (Hoshiarpur), and former MLAs Pawan Kumar Tinu (Jalandhar) and Gurpreet Singh GP (Fatehgarh Sahib).

The highest number of eight turncoats have been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by six by the Congress, five by the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and two by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). In this high-stakes battle, parties do not want to leave any stone unturned even if they have to sacrifice their“ideology” since winnability is the ultimate goal.

Punjab votes on June 1.

Interestingly, in this ideology-less political season, AAP’s lone Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar, Rinku, crossed over to the BJP on March 27 just 13 days after the AAP announced him as its candidate for the second time from Jalandhar.

Earlier too, he had jumped ship from the Congress to AAP in April last year, just a month ahead of the Jalandhar LS seat bypoll.

Deputy leader of opposition and two-time Congress MLA from Chabbewal constituency Dr Raj Kumar joined the AAP on March 15 and he was fielded from Hoshiarpur (SC) Lok Sabha constituency on April 2.

He had strongly opposed the AAP during Vidhan Sabha’s budget session in March’s first week by carrying a symbolic bale of Punjab’s mounting financial burden on his head.

He even brought an iron chain to the Vidhan Sabha for AAP MLAs, stating that the govt had failed to maintain law and order.

Surprisingly, a day after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal inducted Punjab Congress former president Kaypee into the party and announced his party candidature from Jalandhar, the former’s wife and Lok Sabha candidate from Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal quipped on April 23: “In this political season, political bumble bees and butterflies are changing their parties and constituencies. They do not have any stand and any ideology.”

SAD has also fielded another turncoat, Anil Joshi from Amritsar, who was earlier with the BJP.
Political Googly.

Former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who was expelled from SAD in Feb 2020 along with his former Union minister father Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, had merged their party, SAD (Sanyukt), into SAD and re-joined it on March 5. Despite being promised a Lok Sabha poll ticket, SAD chose Iqbal Singh Jhundan instead of Parminder from Sangrur constituency, disappointing the Dhindsa family’s
Habitual Party-Hoppers

AAP LS candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib (reserved) constituency and former Congress MLA from Bassi Pathana Gurpreet Singh GP (52) has joined as many as four political parties in his career till now.
Six candidates in the fray — BJP’s Rinku from Jalandhar, AAP’s Tinu from Jalandhar, Congress’s Sukhpal Singh Khaira from Sangrur, BJP’s Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot, BJP’s Arvind Khanna from Sangrur and Congress’s Dr Dharamvira Gandhi from Patiala — have tried their fortune in three political parties.

AAP’s Ashok Prashar Pappi(Ludhiana) had unsuccessfully contested the 2012 assembly polls on Congress ticket from Ludhiana South constituency but joined the AAP in 2016. He made the ghar wapsi (homecoming) to the Congress in 2017 to once again re-join the AAP in 2021 and won the 2022 assembly election from Ludhiana Central constituency.

Those who have been part of two political parties in their career till now include Congress’s Sher Singh Ghuabaya from Ferozepur, BJP’s Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi from Ferozepur, BJP’s Bittu from Ludhiana, AAP’s Dr Chabbewal (Hoshiarpur), SAD’s Kaypee (Jalandhar), Congress’s Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu (Bathinda), SAD’s Joshi (Amritsar), BJP’s Preneet Kaur (Patiala), AAP’s Malwinder Kang (Anandpur Sahib), BJP’s Manjeet Singh Manna Mianwind (Khadoor Sahib), Congress’s Yamini Gomar (Hoshiarpur), Congress’s Amarjit Kaur Sahoke (Faridkot), BJP’s Gejja Ram Valmiki (Fatehgarh Sahib) and AAP’s Prashar (Ludhiana).