In a notable turn of events, Rakesh Soman, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee for the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha, has relinquished his allegiance to the party and has opted to align with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the weekday.
In a ceremonious gesture, he officially pledged his allegiance to the AAP amidst the presence of the esteemed party luminary and incumbent Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, in this locale. It is pertinent to note that the Hoshiarpur constituency, currently under the incumbency of Union Minister Som Parkash, is designated as a reserved seat.
The electoral landscape presents an intriguing tableau with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) advancing the candidacy of Anita Som Parkash, the spouse of incumbent Som Parkash, for this electoral berth. In contrast, the Congress has nominated Yamini Gomar, while the AAP has nominated the erstwhile Congress defector Raj Kumar Chabbewal. Notably, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has bestowed its electoral mandate upon the former minister Sohan Singh Thandal.
Following the severance of a longstanding alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the BSP had previously articulated its intent to independently contest the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Punjab. This divergence in electoral strategies follows the joint electoral venture between the SAD and the BSP in the 2022 state Assembly elections.