The Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab suffered a double blow on Wednesday as its lone MP in the outgoing Lok Sabha and an MLA joined the BJP on Wednesday.

Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural embraced the saffron party in the backdrop of frantic efforts by the AAP to mount a political attack against the BJP over the recent arrest of party boss, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

These defections came a day after a Congress MP from Punjab, Ravneet Singh Bittu, joined the BJP.

Rinku had been elected to the Lok Sabha less than a year ago in the by-election to the Jalandhar seat, vacated after the death of then Congress MP Santokh Singh. Many were surprised at his switch to the BJP since the AAP had already declared him as the party candidate from the same seat and the saffron camp has marginal influence in the Sikh-dominated state.

Rinku said he joined the BJP for the development of Punjab and Jalandhar, accusing the AAP government in the state of neglecting development work in his constituency.

“People of Jalandhar made me victorious but I am disappointed that my government did not do anything for them. The roads are in bad shape, garbage is littered on the roads and there are mountains of waste,” Rinku said, citing civic issues that are handled by the municipal corporation.

He went on to hail the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo, stressing he was impressed by their working style. “As an MP, I got the opportunity to see how PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah work, and I was greatly impressed,” he added.