As the by-election for Punjab’s Jalandhar parliamentary constituency witnesses a multi-cornered electoral battle, necessary arrangements to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling have been set in place, even as a demand for the deployment of paramilitary forces was raised on Tuesday.
Voting for the by-poll would be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
The key contest is between the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress’ candidate is Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, wife of late MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary. The AAP has named former Congress MLA Sushil Kumar Rinku as its candidate. The BJP has announced that Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, a former Akali Dal MLA, is its candidate. The SAD-BSP combine has fielded former MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi. A total of 19 candidates are in the fray.
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Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C. on Tuesday said the election machinery is working round the clock to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections. He said 542 vulnerable polling stations have been identified, 16 have been marked as critical, and 30 expenditure-sensitive pockets have been identified. In all, 1,972 polling stations have been established and webcasting of all the polling stations was being done, Mr. Sibin said.
“There are as many as 16,21,759 electorates, including 8,44,904 males, 7,76,855 females, 10,286 persons with disability, 1,850 service electors, 73 overseas electors, and 41 transgender electors. There are a total of 19 candidates in the fray, including 15 males and four females,” he added.
SAD leader and spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said that in a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the party has urged the immediate deployment of paramilitary forces for the Jalandhar parliamentary by-election. He said his party was apprehensive that the AAP-led government in the State would misuse government machinery.
The by-election is a critical test for the ruling AAP, which has been in power for over a year now and is seeking votes on its performance and policies. The AAP made its way to power in Punjab with a thumping majority in 2022, but within months faced a major setback as it lost the parliamentary by-election to the Sangrur constituency, hitherto a party bastion. The loss of the seat was seen as a big blow not just for the party but for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as Sangrur is the Chief Minister’s home constituency. Mr. Mann’s prestige is yet again at stake as he is leading the party’s campaign from the front for the Jalandhar by-poll.
The stake for the Congress is also high as the Jalandhar parliamentary seat has traditionally been a Congress party stronghold. Out of a total of 18 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has won 14 times and lost just four times. Since 1999, the Congress has not lost Jalandhar parliamentary constituency.
For the SAD, which faced a drubbing in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, and later the party’s dismal performance in the Sangrur by-poll, the win could prove to be a great fillip, but a loss would be another grim reminder of the crisis that is staring at the SAD and its top leadership.
With an eye on the 2024 General Elections, the by-poll is also testing water for the BJP, which is going solo in the election after the SAD parted ways with it.
