The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) comfortably won the recent Jalandhar West Assembly bypoll, maintaining a lead of almost 3000 votes in each round of counting. Mohinder Bhagat, contesting on an AAP ticket, secured over 55,000 votes to emerge victorious. BJP candidate Sheetal Angural finished a distant second with under 18,000 votes while Congress’ Surinder Kaur came third with around 16,750 votes.
This overwhelming victory for AAP is particularly noteworthy given it had secured just 15,000 votes from this constituency in the Lok Sabha elections held only a month ago. Clearly, the sustained campaigning efforts of CM Bhagwant Mann and other Cabinet members who camped in the area for weeks paid rich dividends for the party. Mann also resided in the locality along with his family, connecting directly with voters on a personal level.
For Mohinder Bhagat, the win has come as a relief after twice losing from here on a BJP ticket in 2017 and 2022 elections. His shift to AAP proved a masterstroke, helping him finally get elected to the state legislature albeit for a short period remaining. BJP candidate Sheetal Angural’s decision to switch from the incumbent MLA position to her new party candidature backfired badly, as she saw her vote share plummet.
The Congress on the other hand had pinned hopes on local worker Surinder Kaur, yet their intensive campaign attacks on party-hoppers clearly failed to resonate on the ground. Their dismal third place finish is a sharp contrast to the high voting percentage the party received recently from this segment during Lok Sabha polls. With this stunning victory, AAP has demonstrated its growing popularity in the Doaba region as well as Punjab overall.
