Punjab Assembly Saga: Angural's Resignation Drama Unfolds

The Punjab Assembly Speaker has accepted the resignation of Sheetal Angural, a former AAP legislator who recently joined the BJP. Angural, MLA of Jalandhar West, had initially resigned to join the BJP but later attempted to withdraw his resignation. The seat is now officially vacant as of May 30, 2024.

The Punjab Assembly saw a significant development as Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan accepted the resignation of Sheetal Angural, who had switched allegiance to the BJP just two months ago. Angural, formerly the AAP MLA representing Jalandhar West, submitted his resignation to the Speaker on March 28, shortly after joining the BJP along with Sushil Rinku. Rinku is currently the BJP candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat.

On May 30, Speaker Sandhwan officially accepted Angural's resignation, and a notification was subsequently issued on May 31. According to the notification, the 34-Jalandhar West (SC) assembly constituency seat in the Punjab Legislative Assembly has been declared vacant effective from May 30, 2024.

Interestingly, Angural had written a letter to the Speaker on the previous Sunday, requesting to withdraw his resignation. He expressed his concern about creating an unnecessary financial burden on the state by holding a by-election for the vacant seat. Punjab, with its 117-assembly segments, had seen a sweeping victory for the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2022 polls, securing 92 seats.