Punjab to Witness Bypolls as Four MLAs Emerge Victorious in Lok Sabha Elections

Four sitting MLAs, including a cabinet minister, clinched victories in the recently declared Lok Sabha election results in Punjab. Cabinet minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, along with Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Dr. Raj Kumar Chabbewal emerged triumphant in the polls. Hayer, a two-time AAP MLA from Barnala, secured the Sangrur seat, while Warring and Randhawa, Congress MLAs from Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak, won in Ludhiana and Gurdaspur, respectively. They are expected to tender their resignations from the state assembly in the coming days.

Additionally, Chabbewal, who won from the Hoshiarpur parliamentary seat, had previously submitted his resignation after switching from the Congress to the AAP. The resignation of Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural, who shifted to the BJP from the AAP, was also accepted by Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. The elections to the vacated five assembly seats – two each in Malwa and Doaba and one in Majha – are mandated to be held within six months.

The ruling AAP and Congress had fielded a total of 12 sitting MLAs in these parliamentary elections. However, except for Hayer and Chabbewal, who emerged victorious, the rest faced defeat. This unusual trend of incumbent legislators contesting parliamentary elections together was viewed as unprecedented by Punjab watchers. Now, Punjab braces itself for bypolls as the elected candidates prepare to step down from their assembly positions.