Jalandhar West ex-MLA Sheetal Angural had submitted his resignation from the assembly seat in March after leaving Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, he had rescinded his resignation just a day after the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab on June 1. His resignation was accepted on June 3, following which the Jalandhar West bye-elections have been scheduled. The polling will be on July 10. In such a situation, a pertinent question arises, will BJP give Sheetal Angural the ticket to contest the elections in the Jalandhar West constituency in the hopes of victory once again?
If reports are to be believed, Sheetal Angural was inducted into BJP on the behest of Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah. Not only this, sources say that he had joined on the promise of a guaranteed ticket to contest the elections. Along with this, Sheetal was the elected Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Jalandhar West constituency. Sushil Rinku, who was the elected MP from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha Constituency, was also a former MLA from Jalandhar West. The duo were holding each other’s hands while both of them had left AAP to join BJP, being labeled traitors by the AAP workers. Therefore, Angural is getting a lot of support from Rinku.
However, Angural is not the only likely candidate for the ticket. Sources say that other candidates for the ticket include 2 time ex-MLA Avinash Chander and Sushil Rinku’s wife, Sunita Rinku. Avinash was a former MLA from the Kartarpur and Phillaur constituency and joined BJP from Shiromani Akali Dal. Chander’s business and his family home are in the Jalandhar West constituency as well. Meanwhile, while Sunita Rinku’s name is being considered for the candidature, its chances are extremely low.
There is also some cunning play involved from AAP as well. The ruling party of the state announced the Jalandhar West bye-elections first and separately from the other 4 constituencies, where the elected MLAs have been elected MPs. This way, the party would not have to worry about allocating resources to multiple assembly bye-elections and instead focus on just one. The other constituencies include Chabbewal (Hoshiarpur), Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur), Barnala (Sangrur) and Gidderbaha (Faridkot).
The Lok Sabha elections 2024 played out shockingly for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab. The ruling party in the country could not secure even a single parliamentary city in the state. However, all was not lost as statistics showed that BJP enjoyed a significant voter turnout in the assembly constituencies of Punjab, even leading in some of them. In the Jalandhar West constituency, BJP was in second behind Congress with a margin of just 2,000 votes. With that in mind, it is likely to focus on assembly constituencies for the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in 2027.
Jalandhar Bye-elections 2024 schedule:
Election Commission of India (ECI) has released a comprehensive schedule for the upcoming bye-elections in the 34-Jalandhar West Assembly Constituency. Prospective candidates must file their nominations by 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. The Model Code of Conduct is also currently in effect.