Days after joining AAP ahead of Jalandhar bypolls, ex-MLA Surinder Singh Chaudhary returns to Congress

Five days after joining the AAP after quitting the Congress, former MLA Surinder Singh Chaudhary returned to the grand old party in Jalandhar on Saturday.

Ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, the former Congress MLA from the Kartarpur Assembly seat joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on April 10 in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Jalandhar.

Surinder Chaudhary is the nephew of deceased Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary.  The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Santokh Singh Chaudhary (76) in January. The Congress MP from Jalandhar died in Phillaur after suffering a cardiac arrest during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa welcomed Surinder Chaudhary back to the party-fold and accused the ruling AAP of using malicious tactics to lure prominent Congress leaders.

"The @INCIndia family welcomes back former Kartarpur MLA Sh. Surinder Singh Chaudhary to the party fold. @AAPPunjab is using malicious tactics to lure the prominent leaders of the opposition party. He has taken this decision of homecoming for the greater good of Punjab," Bajwa said in a tweet.

"Chaudhary's return is a egg on the face of AAP and its CM (sic)," he added.

Bajwa also posted Surinder Chaudhary's pictures on his Twitter handle.

Polling for the Jalandhar parliamentary seat will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be taken up on May 13.