Candidates of all major parties have filed their nominations in the Jalandhar West assembly constituency of Jalandhar, Punjab. There are 20 candidates in the fray including 12 independents. Mohinder Bhagat from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Surinder Kaur from Congress and Surjit Kaur from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) filed their nominations on Friday, i.e the last day of filing nomination (June 21). Sheetal Angural from BJP and Binder Kumar Lakha from BSP had already filed their nominations.
Among the candidates of major parties, the most educated is Surinder Kaur of Congress. She has a pre-medical degree. While Mohinder Bhagat from AAP, Sheetal Angural from BJP and Binder Kumar Lakha from BSP are all Matric (10th) pass. Surprisingly, the SAD candidate Surjit Kaur is illiterate according to her affidavit.
The candidates of AAP, Congress and BJP are crorepatis, while the property of SAD and BSP candidates is worth Rs 7 and Rs 24 lakh respectively. Mohinder's net worth has come down from Rs 4.92 crore registered in the previous elections to Rs 4.72 crore, while Sheetal Angural's property has increased by Rs 31 lakh to Rs 1.18 crore.
Akali Dal candidate Surjit Kaur filed her nomination papers on Friday in the presence of Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Bibi Jagir Kaur and other personalities. Surjit Kaur's name was finalized a day before her nomination. She is the wife of Akali Dal's Taksali leader Jathedar Pritam Singh and has won the councillor election twice.
Candidates for the major Political Parties:
Mohinder Bhagat (66)
- Party: AAP
- Education: Matric
- Assets: ₹4.72 crore
- Strength: Three decades of political experience.
- Weakness: MPs and MLAs have left the party.
Surinder Kaur (63)
- Party Congress
- Education: Pre-medical
- Assets ₹3.84 crore
- Strength: 5-time winner, was senior deputy mayor.
- Weakness: No party in-charge here for years.
Sheetal Angural (40)
- Party: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Education: Matric
- Pending Case: 4
- Assets: ₹1.18 crore
- Strength: BJP's stronghold. Resigned on his own.
- Weakness: No development, poor law and order
Surjit Kaur (59)
- Party: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
- Education: Illiterate
- Property: 4 marla house
- Strength: Has been a councillor twice. Leadership support.
Binder Kumar (49)
- Party: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
- Education: Matric
- Assets: Rs 24 lakh
- Weakness: Big leaders have left the party.
- Strength: Hope from the party's vote bank.
Other candidates for the Legislative seat include:
- SAD (Amritsar) (Simranjit Singh): Sarabjit Singh
- Rashtriya Ekta Party: Iqbal Chand.
- Lok Rajyam Party: Inderjit Singh
Independent Candidates:
- Varun Kaler
- Raj Kumar
- Vishal Kumar
- Rajkumar
- Ajay Bhagat
- Neetu Shutteran Wala
- Ajay Kumar
- Balwinder Kumar
- Amit Kumar
- Aarti
- Deepak Bhagat
- Mohinder Pal Azad
Covering Candidates
- AAP: Atul Bhagat
- Congress: Karan Suman
- BSP: Paramjit Mal
Senior Political leaders will be deployed in the Jalandhar West to monitor the booths coming under each ward. All the core leadership including Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Pratap Singh Bajwa will be active in Jalandhar. There are 23 wards in the Jalandhar West constituency, all of which will be monitored by 23 MLAs and MP.
Jalandhar West Bye-elections schedule:
The official gazette notification was issued on June 14, 2024, with the deadline for filing nominations on June 21, 2024. 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.