Sucha Singh Chhotepur is an Indian politician and vice-president of
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many ...
. He was born in Punjab. He was former state convener of the
Aam Aadmi Party
The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...
(AAP) for
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. He is the former state Minister of Tourism and a former independent member of the
Punjab Legislative Assembly
The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directl ...
.
Political career
Chhotepur is son in law of
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many ...
President
Mohan Singh Tur
Mohan Singh Tur (1915–1979) was an Indian politician and former Jathedar of Akal Takht and president of Shiromani Akali Dal . He was also known as Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur. He was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of ...
. He was elected sarpanch of
Chhotepur village in
Majha region of
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
in 1975.
In 1985, he won
Dhariwal constituency in
Gurdaspur district and became minister for health and tourism in
Surjit Singh Barnala government. He resigned from government in a protest against the government actions at the
Golden Temple.
He again contested as an independent candidate in 1997 state election from
Dhariwal constituency.
He contested 2002 state election from
Dhariwal constituency and won the seat as an Independent by margin of 80 votes against
Sucha Singh Langah
Sucha Singh Langah is an Indian politician and belongs to the Shiromani Akali Dal. He is a former cabinet Minister in Punjab Government. He was Minister for Public Works Department from 1997 to 2002 and then Minister for Agriculture from 2007 ...
.
In 2009, Chhotepur joined the Indian National Congress in presence of Captain
Amarinder Singh in
Gurdaspur. He helped
Partap Singh Bajwa
Partap Singh Bajwa is an Indian politician having served as a member of the Lok Sabha representing Gurdaspur in Punjab (India), Punjab from 2009 to 2014. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of the Legislative Assembly ...
to defeat
Vinod Khanna of
Bharatiya Janta Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
by 8,342 votes.
In 2012 state election, Chhotepur again contested as Independent lost to
Charanjit Kaur Bajwa
Charanjit Kaur Bajwa is an Indian politician and a member of Indian National Congress. She was Member of Punjab Legislative Assembly and represented Qadian. She is the wife of the former Punjab Pradesh Congress committee president and Ex Member ...
a wife of
Partap Singh Bajwa
Partap Singh Bajwa is an Indian politician having served as a member of the Lok Sabha representing Gurdaspur in Punjab (India), Punjab from 2009 to 2014. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of the Legislative Assembly ...
and came third but got 17000 votes.
In 2014 elections, he became
Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national conv ...
's go to man in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. He became the AAP convener for
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
.
In 2017, Chhotepur launched
Aapna Punjab Party which led to losses for the Aap in Punjab and stuck it to 20 seats . On 9 December 2021, he joined
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many ...
just before
2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
Legislative Assembly elections were held in Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 10 March 2022.
The Aam Aadmi P ...
and will contest from
Batala.
In
2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
The Legislative Assembly elections were held in Punjab, India, Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the List of constituencies of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, 117 members of the Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly, 16th Assembly of the Pu ...
he contested from
Batala Assembly constituency
Batala Assembly constituency (Sl. No.: 7) is a Punjab Legislative Assembly constituency in Gurdaspur district, Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical ...
but lost the election to
Amansher Singh
Amansher Singh (Shery Kalsi) is an Indian politician and MLA from Batala Assembly constituency. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Member of Legislative Assembly
He represents the Batala Assembly constituency as MLA in Punjab Assembly. The ...
of
Aam Aadmi Party
The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...
.
Aapna Punjab Party
Aapna Punjab Party (APP) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in India, established in 2016 by Chhotepur
Party contested on 78 seats in
2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
A Legislative Assembly election was held in the Indian state of Punjab on 4 February 2017 to elect the 117 members of the Fifteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes was done on 11 March 2017. The ruling pre-election coalition w ...
however all candidates forfeited their deposit. It got only 37,475 votes and overall 0.24% voteshare.
On 9 December 2021, with the joining of Akali dal by party president Sucha Singh Chhotepur, party officially merged into Sanyukt Samaj Morcha on 16 January 2022.
Aapna Punjab Party merges into Sanyukt Samaj Morcha
/ref>
See also
* 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
A Legislative Assembly election was held in the Indian state of Punjab on 4 February 2017 to elect the 117 members of the Fifteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes was done on 11 March 2017. The ruling pre-election coalition w ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chhotepur, Sucha Singh
Shiromani Akali Dal politicians
Indian National Congress politicians
Former members of Aam Aadmi Party from Punjab
21st-century Indian politicians
Living people
Punjab, India MLAs 1985–1990
State cabinet ministers of Punjab, India
1953 births
Punjab, India MLAs 2002–2007