In a significant political development, senior Punjab Congress leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa and Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, have resigned from their positions as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) following their victories in the Lok Sabha elections.
Deputy CM Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, who previously represented the Dera Baba Nanak assembly seat, and Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who has now won the Lok Sabha seat from Ludhiana, have formally resigned from their MLA positions. The Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Giddarbaha, has accepted their resignation, resulting in three vacant assembly seats in Punjab.
Additionally, Barnala MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer is also expected to resign soon, having won the Lok Sabha seat from Sangrur. The Assembly Speaker has congratulated Raja Warring on his new role, encouraging him to actively address Punjab's issues in the national Parliament.
Several other MLAs who contested and won in the Lok Sabha elections include Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Dera Baba Nanak, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring from Ludhiana, and Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Barnala. Raja Kumar Chabbewal, who switched allegiance from Congress to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is also among those who won.
The Election Commission is expected to make decisions regarding the scheduling of by-elections for the now-vacant assembly seats. Notably, the MLA for the Jalandhar West seat had resigned just before the Lok Sabha elections, prompting an upcoming election for that seat as well.
Legal experts have highlighted that all leaders elected in 2024 must resign from their MLA positions by June 20 to avoid holding dual offices simultaneously. Failure to resign on time will result in the Election Commission declaring their Lok Sabha seats vacant. The notification for the election of all Lok Sabha MPs was published in the Rajpath of India on June 6, 2024, and the elected leaders must complete the necessary formalities within 14 days of this notification.