aap-faces-another-litmus-test-in-jalandhar-by-poll

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is faced with another litmus test immediately after the completion of the General Elections. A by-election to the Jalandhar West (Reserved) constituency has been announced and is scheduled to be held on July 10.

 

The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of the sitting AAP MLA Sheeta Angural, who joined the BJP before the General Elections. 

 

Although he tried to withdraw his resignation it was disallowed, thus resulting in the by-election. 

 

There will be four more by-elections after this since four sitting MLAs have been elected to the parliament. They include two from the Congress and two from the AAP. However, these elections will be held later, possibly along with the assembly elections of Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

 

All by-elections are thought to be a referendum for the ruling party. Jalandhar West will prove to be a tough challenge for the AAP government. 

 

In the recently concluded parliamentary elections, the AAP came a distant third from this assembly segment. The Congress and the BJP were involved in a neck-and-neck fight from here. 

 

While Charanjit Singh Channi of the Congress was ahead of everyone by polling 44394 votes, Sushil Kumar Rinku of the BJP came a close second with 42,837 votes. 

 

The AAP candidate from here, Pawan Kumar Tinu came a distant third polling just 15.692 votes, a deficit of 28,702 votes, which may not be very easy for the party to cover even in a by-election. 

 

Both the Congress as well as the BJP have strong voter presence in this assembly segment, as is obvious from the number of votes they polled.

 

It is going to be a serious challenge for the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann personally also. The party has fared badly in the General Elections winning just three of the thirteen parliamentary constituencies. 

 

Moreover, the sitting legislator Sheetal Angural belonged to the ruling party when he resigned to join the BJP. 

He is not a very prominent leader and could win in 2022 only in the sweeping AAP wave. 

 

Both the Congress and the BJP will put up their best candidates from here. Besides, they remain on a sound footing, both having shared almost same number of votes and both being far ahead of the ruling AAP candidate. 

 

While the outcome of the Jalandhar West by-election will not have any impact on the political dynamics of the state, with the AAP already having a brute majority of 91 legislators in a house of 117, still the result will have an overall fallout for every stakeholder whether it be the AAP, the Congress or the BJP.

 

Stakes are higher for the AAP as its two main rivals, the Congress and the BJP have nothing to lose and everything to gain from here. If the AAP does not manage to win the Jalandhar by-election, it will be a grave setback for the party.