Polling for Jalandhar West bye-elections 2024 is underway and voters are enthusiastically casting their votes for the candidate of their choice. The seat was vacated after the resignation of BJP candidate, Sheetal Angural. By 3 PM, 42.60% of the voters had exercised their franchise in the Jalandhar West constituency. Earlier, the voting turnout reached 34.04% by 1 PM, 23.04% by 11 am and 10.30% by 9 AM. Voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm.
Talking about the candidates, they are the former senior deputy mayor Surinder Kaur for Congress, former BJP minister Chunni Lal Bhagat's son Mohinder Bhagat from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and former MLA Sheetal Angural from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With 33.73% of the vote, Sheetal Angural of the AAP won the election in 2022. Mohinder Bhagat, who was running for the BJP at the time, finished third with 28.81% of the vote, behind Sushil Rinku of the Congress. The SAD fielded Surjit Kaur as their candidate, who sparked controversy as she made two swift party shifts, joining AAP and then returning to SAD.
The seat was won by BJP in 2012, Congress in 2017 and AAP in 2022. AAP had won the seat by contesting with Sheetal Angural as their candidate, who switched party just before the Lok Sabha elections in March and resigned as the MLA. Mohinder Bhagat, who is now the AAP candidate was the BJP candidate in 2022.
A total of 1,71,963 voters are registered in the constituency and 181 polling booths have been set up.