CM Bhagwant Mann Emerges as the ‘Hero’ in AAP’s Jalandhar West Bypoll Victory

Jalandhar: Two months after a dismal show in Lok Sabha Elections, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) bounced back by making a clean sweep in the Jalandhar West (reserve) assembly constituency bypoll, which was led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann. Jalandhar West is the only urban reserve constituency of Dalit dominated Doaba region.

It was expected that the key fight would be between AAP and the Congress, but it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that finished second in the bypoll. The Congress came in third while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which was facing factionalism over party president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s leadership, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidates lost their deposit.

AAP candidate Mohinder Bhagat, who is the son of BJP’s veteran leader Chunni Lal Bhagat, won the bypoll with 55,246 votes defeating BJP candidate Sheetal Angural who got 17, 921 votes. Congress candidate Surinder Kaur polled 16, 757 votes while SAD candidate Surjit Kaur got 1,242 votes and BSP’s Binder Kumar Lakha got only 734 votes.

The bypoll was necessitated after Angural left AAP to join the BJP ahead of the recently held Lok Sabha elections 2024. In the 2017 assembly election, the Jalandhar West seat was won by Congress candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku. Until then this seat was a stronghold of the then SAD-BJP alliance candidate Chunni Lal Bhagat.

An upbeat AAP leadership, including cabinet ministers Aman Arora, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Hoshiarpur MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal and AAP’s Jalandhar Lok Sabha candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu along with winner Mohinder, held a press conference on Saturday evening to thank the voters, volunteers, and Mann for their hard work. The party also held a roadshow to thank the voters.

An elated Mohinder, who became an MLA for the first time from his home turf, attributed his victory to Mann and said, “It was all because of CM Mann that I won with a landslide victory. People love CM Bhagwant Mann and want him to lead Punjab. We will fulfil all the promises made with the people of Jalandhar West.”

Mann congratulated Bhagat on X. “Congratulations to AAP’s leadership for the remarkable victory of Jalandhar West assembly constituency bypoll. The victory with a big lead proves that people across Punjab were very happy with the work of our government. As per our promise during campaign, we will make Jalandhar West as ‘the best’ too. Congratulations to Mohinder Bhagat ji,” he said.

Do-or-die battle for AAP

After putting up a dismal show, where AAP could hardly win three seats out of total 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, the party’s functioning and leadership, including chief minister Mann, was under attack from rivals. AAP had lost the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat, represented by its MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, to Congress’s Charanjit Singh Channi by 1, 75, 993 votes.

Further, before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Jalandhar West (reserved) assembly constituency was in the kitty of the AAP, making the bypoll a do-or-die battle. The seat was represented by Angural, who had shifted from the BJP to AAP ahead of the assembly polls in 2022.

Chandigarh-based senior journalist Manpreet Randhawa, who worked with AAP for a long time, said, “Had the party lost the Jalandhar West bypoll too, it would have sounded like a death knell for the AAP. Since Jalandhar West is a reserve constituency representing the Ravidassia, Kabirpanthi, the followers of Sant Kabir and Sialkotis, those who came from Sialkot in Pakistan post partition communities, losing this seat would have weakened party’s position in Dalit politics”, he said.

Randhawa called the results a temporary ‘sigh of relief’ for the party. “AAP’s popularity was on the downslide following its poor performance, not only in Punjab but in Delhi too, where it lost all seven seats. The party remained embroiled in many controversies and law and order issues. Rather it is for the first time that a CM shifted his base to another city just ahead of polls. Will the CM shift base to Bathinda if polls are held there? The poor voter turnout, mere 55%, in the bypoll was a sign of disenchantment of voters with the government,” he added.

To ensure victory in the bypoll, chief minister Mann had rented a bungalow in Jalandhar from where he supervised the election campaign. The decision to make Jalandhar the second political capital of Punjab and reaching out to people from Doaba and Majha regions struck a chord with the voters, ensuring a big win for AAP. Mann’s wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, and his sister Manpreet Kaur also held the fort and aggressively led the campaign, paving way for its sure shot victory.

Another factor that helped AAP gain ground was Mann’s promise that Mohinder would be made a cabinet minister if elected to power. Interestingly, Mohinder’s father was also a cabinet minister in the SAD-BJP government from 2007 to 2017. Mohinder’s strong ‘Bhagat community’ support of around 30,000 voters from the constituency, which is known for voting en bloc, too gave a push to AAP.

On the other hand, Congress lacked an aggressive campaign and could not even match the number of rallies conducted by AAP. A sign of Congress lacking popular support was visible from people’s response in AAP’s rallies. “While AAP rallies were jam packed, Congress was not getting a thumping response. Another factor was that Congress solely banked on Surinder Kaur’s four years of consecutive win as a counciLlor but failed to match AAP’s all-out campaign,” said a Congress leader from Jalandhar West.

The bypoll result came as a huge setback for SAD and BSP. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal had withdrawn his support from SAD candidate Surjit Kaur, who won a mere 1,242 votes after she joined a rebel group seeking Sukhbir’s resignation from the party presidency. Instead, SAD supported BSP candidate Binder Kumar Lakha, who managed to scrape together 732 votes.

‘Jalandhar West victory a big reply to turncoats’

Talking to The Wire, AAP’s Jalandhar Lok Sabha candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu, who led Mohinder’s election campaign, termed the party’s victory as a historic and a one-sided contest. “AAP has retained the Jalandhar West seat at a time when its sitting MLA Sheetal Angural and MP Sushil Kumar Rinku had switched over to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections. A narrative of confusion was created by our rivals that AAP’s leaders were quitting because of the party’s poor functioning. However, the clean sweep of Mohinder Bhagat has vindicated our point that turncoats like Rinku and Angural were wrong. They have been served a lesson now,” he said.

Tinu also lauded Mann’s leadership skills and the way he commanded the campaign. “Ignoring the sultry weather, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Sandeep Pathak and entire state leadership went to every nook and corner of Jalandhar West constituency and held back-to-back rallies. People were happy for the fact at least the CM was visiting them and has decided to stay in Jalandhar for their cause twice a week. The CM along with the entire state leadership gave a clear message to the voters that it was the turncoats who left, but we are here to work for you,” he added.

Taking a dig at Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi, who won with a remarkable lead from Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency, Tinu said, “Just two months ago, Congress had scored the highest 44,394 votes from Jalandhar West assembly seat but it has been pushed to third position in the bypoll. Parliamentary elections were fought on nationalistic issues of secularism, farmers’ issues and security but when it comes to Punjab’s issues, people have proved that AAP was the best.”

Meanwhile BJP Punjab President Sunil Jakhar took to X, saying that he hopes that AAP would perform and fulfil its promises in the next 2.5 years. Reacting to Jakhar’s post, AAP spokesperson Neel Garg wrote, “Sunil Jakhar Sahib stop daydreaming! People have rejected BJP’s politics of hate and corruption. AAP’s victory in the bypoll is a testament to Bhagwant Mann government’s commitment to development, honesty & public welfare. We will continue to work tirelessly for the people of Punjab, unlike BJP which only serves the interests of a few. No more empty promises, it’s time for the BJP to introspect!”