Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Mohinder Bhagat scored a landslide victory with 58% of the votes in the 2024 Jalandhar West bye-elections, crushing Congress’ Surinder Kaur and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Sheetal Angural with a huge margin of 37,325 votes. Not only this, Congress, which emerged as the voters' choice in the Lok Sabha polls, ended up in third, behind Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Sheetal Angural. However, more than a victory for Bhagat, the bye-polls were vindication for the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, who had pulled out all stops to ensure Bhagat’s dominant performance.
The Jalandhar assembly seat was a matter of prestige for the CM as the previous MLA, Sheetal Angural, had won in 2022 assembly elections under the banner of AAP. He was now contesting this seat with BJP, where victory would have meant a devastating blow to AAP’s image. As a result, CM Mann would have wanted to secure victory in this Legislative Assembly constituency to prove the mettle of AAP.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann's decision to monitor AAP's campaign for Jalandhar West Bye Election seems to have given big results. Apart from monitoring & getting involved in the election campaign, Bhagwant Mann's decision to shift his bases to Jalandhar from Chandigarh is turned out to be a masterstroke as it won the trust of the people. Bhagwant Mann's wife and sister also helped him out. Mann's sister and wife, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur have visited people door-to-door and had discussions over their issues. They have also visited slum areas of Jalandhar West so that all sections of society of the constituency remains under the observation of the State Government.
CM Mann conducted multiple roadshows for Mohinder Bhagat with people attending in large numbers with hopes that AAP will deliver the plethora of promises it is making to the voters. Punjab Chief Minister left no stone unturned, be it meeting with industrialists or addressing the grievances of the common people. CM Mann has also promised to turn Jalandhar West into a hub of medical tourism. Talking about common people, Bhagwant Mann's wife, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur oversaw the 'Janata Darbar' along with him where they have been addressing their problems on a fast-track basis.
Bhagwant Mann also held a meeting with the top 100 industrialists of Jalandhar and Punjab. CM Mann hosted the industrialists at his Jalandhar bungalow. Punjab CM also held one-to-one talks with the industrialists and even addressed them together. As per the information received, CM Mann held serious talks with sports industrialists. Notably, the sports industry is among the many industries why Jalandhar is famous. The one-to-one meeting of Mann with industrialists reduced the conversation gap that often emerged out.
All of the CM’s efforts paid massive dividends however as Mohinder Bhagat won the assembly seat with a huge margin. This has definitely raised the perception of CM Mann’s image in the party and elevated his status as the party leader. This victory was a big win for the Chief Minister, just as much as it was for the elected MLA Mohinder Bhagat.