A political buzz was sparked in Bathinda after former Municipal Councillor from ward 13, Harjinder Singh Shinda, was “reinducted” into the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, despite his claim that he had never formally left the party.Shinda, who joined AAP in 2024 in Chandigarh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is currently associated with the party as the SC Wing coordinator in Bathinda, according to his statement.Both Shinda and his mother, Gurdev Kaur — also a former Municipal Councillor — had distanced themselves from active politics over the past few days. They cited dissatisfaction over pending work and a lack of responsiveness as reasons for stepping back.In a fresh development, former Bathinda Mayor Padamjeet Mehta, along with his father Amarjeet Mehta, Chairman of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), visited Shinda’s residence on Friday and presented him with a ‘siropa’.The move quickly drew criticism from opposition quarters. Dinav Singla, son of former MLA and BJP’s Bathinda (Urban) district president Sarup Chand Singla, took a dig at the AAP through a social media post, sarcastically suggesting that Shinda’s ‘reinduction’ was done because “the rituals were perhaps not properly done last time”.Responding to it, Shinda downplayed the situation. Speaking to The Tribune, he said, “I was not active in politics for the past few days. Amarjeet Mehta and Padamjeet Mehta came to my residence and just offered me a ‘siropa’. I had not left the party.”The incident has nonetheless fuelled political chatter in Bathinda, with questions being raised about internal coordination of AAP. Notably, in 2024, when Shinda joined AAP, he was accompanied by local MLA Jagroop Singh Gill.