Chandigarh, May 8 -- In a jolt to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), its candidate from Punjab's Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency Rakesh Soman joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday.
Soman, a dalit leader from the Doaba region, was formally inducted into the AAP fold by its state president and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
BSP's Central Coordinator and in-charge for Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh Randhir Singh Beniwal said Soman defected after his candidature for the Hoshiarpur seat was withheld over a technical issue.
Soman failed to provide a valid voter list with his name included in it. Beniwal alleged that Soman's name was removed from the voter list, as part of a "political conspiracy" hatched by the AAP government.
On Tuesd...