AAP wrests Jalandhar LS seat from Congress; Kejriwal calls victory 'historic'

The AAP on Saturday breached the Congress stronghold in Punjab as its candidate Sushil Rinku defeated his nearest-rival and the grand old partys nominee Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary in Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll by a margin of 58,691 votes.The win gives the ruling party in Punjab and Delhi its only member in Lok Sabha.The Aam Aadmi Party has not had a member in the lower house since its defeat in Sangrur bypoll last year.

The AAP on Saturday breached the Congress stronghold in Punjab as its candidate Sushil Rinku defeated his nearest-rival and the grand old party's nominee Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary in Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll by a margin of 58,691 votes.

The win gives the ruling party in Punjab and Delhi its only member in Lok Sabha.

The Aam Aadmi Party has not had a member in the lower house since its defeat in Sangrur bypoll last year. The Sangrur parliamentary seat fell vacant after Bhagwant Mann resigned as MP on being elected to Punjab Assembly. The AAP currently has 10 members in Rajya Sabha.

Celebrations broke out following Rinku's victory with AAP leaders and supporters dancing to the tunes of 'dhols' and bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets.

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal hailed the victory as ''historic'' and said it's people's recognition of the good work done by Chief Minister Mann and his government in Punjab.

''It's an unprecedented victory because of the Mann government's good work. Our party candidate has won from the seat which was a Congress stronghold for the last 50 years,'' he told a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi.

The Jalandhar (reserved) seat fell vacant following the death of Karamjit Kaur's husband and Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January.

''We do not do politics of religion or caste. We do politics of work and seek votes from the people for our work. People of Jalandhar have put a stamp on Bhagwant Mann government's work saying 'we are with you'. This is a big message. This also reflects the mood of Punjab,'' Kejriwal said.

He said the Punjab government solved the problems created by the ''wrong decisions'' of the previous Congress government. This, he added, created "a positive atmosphere".

Mann, who was with Kejriwal, said the bypoll result is people's ''positive stamp'' on his government's work.

''The election result has increased our responsibility and my confidence. We will work much harder for the development of Punjab,'' he said, hoping that AAP will win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab next year.

Mann also took on his rivals, saying, "Good luck to those, who abused us and made objectionable comments against us." "Now they also must realised that people do not pay attention to such things. People want good education for their children, jobs for their children, free treatment to elderly," he said.

"Instead of the politics of mudslinging, we should talk about development. I hope those who are lost will change their line and agenda in the coming days," he added.

Rinku, who joined AAP after quitting Congress in the run up to the bypoll, polled 3,02,279 votes while Chaudhary secured 2,43,588 votes, according to the Election Commission data.

Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who was backed by the Mayawati-led BSP, was at the third position; BJP nominee Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal came fourth.

Sukhi polled 1,58,445, while Atwal got 1,34,800 votes.

Gurjant Singh, the candidate of the Simranjit Singh Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), which won Sangrur Lok Sabha seat last year, secured just 20,366 votes. The AAP got a vote share of 34.05 per cent, followed by Congress (27.44 per cent), SAD (17.85 per cent) and BJP (15.19 per cent).

Kejriwal said people have defeated ''dynasty politics'' by defeating the BJP and the Congress.

As many as 6,661 voters opted for None of the Above (NOTA) option. There were a total of 16.21 lakh eligible voters, of which 8.87 lakh people exercised their franchise.

Counting of votes for the bypoll held on May 10 began at 8 am. The AAP candidate consistently maintained a lead over his rivals since the start of the counting.

Nineteen candidates contested the bypoll, which recorded a voter turnout of 54.70 per cent.

The turnout was well below the 63.04 per cent recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

With the win, the AAP has caused a major upset to the Congress, which remained undefeated on the seat since 1999. It's also a shot in the arm for AAP after a drubbing in Sangrur last year, just three months after it stormed to power in March 2022.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheem described the victory as "historic".

He said it showed the people of Jalandhar have rejected the ''false propaganda'' of the opposition.

Cheema, who was AAP's election in-charge for the bypoll, said it was the party's first victory after it was recognised as a national party last month.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring conceded his party's defeat, saying, "We humbly accept people's mandate''.

"We humbly accept people's mandate! I thank party workers, volunteers, supporters and the entire @INCPunjab leadership, for the hard work & efforts put in by them for the #JalandharByElection. I congratulate Sushil Rinku & AAP party for the victory." SAD chief Sukhbir Badal also thanked voters and said his party accepts the "mandate with humility." "We thank the voters of #Jalandhar and accept the mandate with humility in the true democratic traditions of our party. We congratulate the winner Sushil Kumar Rinku & @AamAadmiParty and hope that they will live up to the voters' expectations," said Badal.

The bypoll was seen as a test of the Mann government's policies of providing free electricity and jobs, regularising services of contractual employees, action against corruption and opening mohalla clinics.

The stakes were high for the BJP and the SAD, who severed their alliance over the now-repealed farm laws in 2020.