In one-sided contest, AAP wins Punjab's Jalandhar (West) Assembly bypoll

Chandigarh, July 13 (IANS) In a face-saving for the AAP government in Punjab led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, its nominee Mohinder Bhagat on Saturday won the Jalandhar (West) Assembly bypoll by 37,325 votes, defeating nearest rival and BJP candidate Sheetal Angural, whose defection from AAP necessitated the bypoll.

Bhagat's win was one-sided as he was leading from the initial round of counting. The polling was held on July 10.

Angural polled 17,921 votes, while Congress candidate Surinder Kaur, the former senior Deputy Mayor of Jalandhar, finished third with 16,757 votes, as per the Election Commission of India.

There were 15 candidates in the fray.

Celebrations broke out at the AAP office in Chandigarh with the news of party's win.

"The people of Jalandhar (West) have stamped their approval on the development work of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann by making the AAP candidate Mohinder Bhagat victorious by a huge margin," the party wrote on X.

Bhagat, who left BJP and joined the AAP in April 2023, is the son of a three-time MLA from this Assembly constituency of BJP and served as Cabinet Minister from 2007-2017.

By fielding Bhagat, AAP was looking to woo 30,000 Bhagat community voters.

The Jalandhar West (reserved) Assembly constituency, a hub of Dalits in the Doaba region, witnessed a multi-cornered contest with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s mettle at stake.

Mann, who hired a rented house in Jalandhar to establish a direct link with electorates and campaigned aggressively, in his campaign indicated the minister's post for the AAP candidate if he wins the Jalandhar (West) bypoll.

Attacking the Congress, the Akali Dal and the BJP, he had said, "God does everything for the betterment of the people, that's why a corrupt person resigned on his own and now Jalandhar will get an honest MLA."

"Mohinder Bhagat is a 'bhagat' by nature too, he is an honest and sincere leader," the chief minister said.

Congress during the campaign had targeted the turncoats -- Bhagat and BJP's Angural.

In a humiliating defeat to the AAP government two years after its landslide victory in the state, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and party's national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, had set an ambitious target of winning all 13 Lok Sabha seats and won just three seats, with four of five cabinet ministers failing to secure victories.

However, AAP improved its 2019 performance when it managed to win a lone seat.

By winning the Jalandhar (West) bypoll, AAP has 91 members in the House of 117, while the Congress has 15, Akali Dal three, BJP two and others two. There are four vacancies in the Assembly after sitting MLAs get elected to the Lok Sabha.