Just moments after AAP announced Mohinder Bhagat as their candidate for Jalandhar West, BJP has announced their candidate as well. BJP has given the ticket to ex-MLA Sheetal Angural, who was already rumoured to be the top choice for the ticket. Sheetal Angural was embroiled in controversy after him and Sushil Rinku decided to shift allegiances and leave AAP for BJP. The Jalandhar West assembly seat was vacated following Sheetal Angural’s resignation after leaving AAP. Sheetal Angural’s resignation is the reason for these bye-elections.
At the same time, AAP has given the ticket to Mohinder Bhagat, who left BJP in 2023 to join AAP. Mohinder Bhagat is the son of former BJP minister Chunni Lal Bhagat. He has a strong hold in Jalandhar West constituency. He did not get a ticket from BJP.
The interesting thing is that both the candidates were also in the fray in the 2022 assembly elections. However, back then Mohinder Bhagat was the BJP candidate while Angural was the candidate from AAP.
Jalandhar West Bye-elections:
By-election is being held after the resignation of Sheetal Angural. Sheetal Angural joined BJP on 27 March just before the Lok Sabha elections. After this, he resigned from the post of MLA, but on 29 May, Angural decided to take back his resignation. On 30 May, Angural wrote a letter to the speaker to take back his resignation.
On 3 June, the speaker called Angural for discussion on the resignation. But on 30 May, Angural's resignation was accepted. On this, Angural had talked about filing a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Jalandhar West bye-election process began on June 14 and the scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on June 24, 2024, ensuring all candidates meet the necessary eligibility criteria. Candidates would be able to withdraw their nomination papers on June 26, 2024. The bye-election polling is scheduled for July 10, 2024, and the counting of votes will be done on July 13, 2024. The entire election process will be completed by July 15, 2024. The Model Code of Conduct is also currently in effect.