Days after replacing him as its candidate for Talwandi Sabo Assembly by-election, the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Wednesday expelled renowned singer Balkar Sidhu for “anti-party activities”.

Besides Sidhu, the party has also shown the door to Sandeep Handa, a close aide of party’s Faridkot MP Sadhu Singh for accompanying Sidhu when he was filing his nomination papers against the party’s official candidate. 

Sidhu, who was AAP’s first choice to field as its candidate from Talwandi Sabo assembly constituency, was left red-faced after his name was withdrawn by the party following allegation of human trafficking against him.

He was replaced by Baljinder Kaur, known as a “very hard working worker” of the party and serving as a lecturer at Fatehgarh Sahib.Peeved, Sidhu went on to file his nomination papers as an “independent”. 

As August 6 was the last day to withdraw the nominations, no amount of persuasion worked and Sidhu went ahead with his decision to contest polls as an independent against AAP’s official candidate.

AAP’s disciplinary committee, irate over Sidhu’s move, decided to expel him from party’s membership, and all other posts held by him and Handa, who was Faridkot in-charge in State-level ad-hoc organizing committee of AAP.

40-year-old Balkar Sidhu became active in AAP after the party won four seats in parliamentary elections and joined the party in May this year. He had also campaigned for AAP candidates in Punjab during Lok Sabha polls.

Other than AAP’s Baljinder Kaur, Sidhu would now face SAD’s Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, and Congress’ Harminder Singh Jassi.