The BJP on Saturday appointed Union minister Som Parkash as its incharge for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, a party statement said. Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma also appointed Kewal Singh Dhillon and Mukerian MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan as co-incharges for the bypoll, state party general secretary Jeevan Gupta said in the statement.

The Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of Congress MP Santokh Chaudhary last month. He suffered a cardiac arrest during former Congress president Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalandhar’s Phillaur.

Punjab BJP chief Sharma also appointed Balbir Singh Sidhu as the state unit vice president.

Sidhu, who was formerly with the Congress, joined the BJP last year.