Vote counting begins for bypoll in Punjab’s Jalandhar West Assembly seat

Chandigarh, July 13 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Vote count for Punjab’s lone Assembly constituency — Jalandhar West — began on Saturday, with 15 candidates in the fray for a multi-cornered contest largely among the state-ruling AAP, the Congress, and the BJP. Polling was held on Wednesday and saw 54.98 per cent turnout. The seat fell vacant with resignation of Sheetal Angural as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator. He’s again in the fray, now as the BJP nominee. In a battle in the Jalandhar West (reserved) Assembly constituency, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s prestige is at stake. The Jalandhar West (reserved) Assembly constituency is a hub of Dalits in the Doaba region. While the ruling AAP has fielded BJP rebel Mohinder Bhagat as its candidate, the Congress’ nominee is Surinder Kaur, the former senior Deputy Mayor and five-time councillor of Jalandhar. Bhagat, who left the BJP and joined the AAP in April 2023, is the son of a three-time BJP MLA from this Assembly constituency and served as Cabinet Minister from 2007–2017. The Shiromani Akali Dal has extended support to Bahujan Samaj Party nominee Binder Kumar. The caste factor has played a key role in this seat, that is known worldwide for manufacturing sports goods. In a humiliating defeat to the AAP government two years after its landslide victory in the state, the party had won just three out of 13 seats in just concluded parliamentary polls, with four of the five Cabinet Ministers failing to secure victories. —