The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday created history after its candidate Sushil Rinku won the Jalandhar Byelection 2023 and broke the Congress' stronghold. Congress which had not lost Jalandhar constituency since 1999, finally lost in 2023 to AAP's Suhsil Rinku. Notably, Sushil Rinku was Congress MLA from Jalandhar West when he jumped ship and joined AAP ahead of the Jalandhar Bypoll 2023. A day after joining AAP, the party announced Sushil Rinku as its official candidate for the Janaldhar Byelection 2023. Sushil Rinku secured a total of 302279 votes as per the Election Commission and due to which AAP's percentage of votes was 34.05. The voting for the Jalandhar Byelection 2023 took place on May 10, with a total voter turnout of 54.70 percent.
For the 2023 Jalandhar Bypolls, Congress had fielded Karamjit Kaur as its official candidate. Karamjit Kaur is the wife of the late Santokh Singh Chaudhary who was previously the MP of Jalandhar constituency from 2014. Notably, it was the death of MP Chaudhary during Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra which opened doors for the Jalandhar By-Election 2023. With Jalandhar Lok Sabha Byelection Result finally out, the question arises what are the factors that led the Aam Aadmi Party to win the polls and ultimately the trust of the people of Punjab? Below are five factors that may have contributed to Aam Aadmi Party's victory in Jalandhar Byelection 2023.
1) Sushil Rinku- Leader of the masses
Sushil Rinku is a veteran of politics and is considered the leader of the masses. Sushil Rinku is a former Congress MLA and has been serving the 'Grand Old Party' from the ground level since 1990. During the 2022 Punjab Elections, Sushil Rinku's performance was not that bad. From the Jalandhar Constituency, his vote percentage was second only after another AAP candidate. Therefore, Rinku joining the AAP benefited them both. Notably, the results are important for the AAP, which despite a landslide victory securing 92 seats in the February 2022 elections, had lost in four out of the nine Assembly segments that fall under the Jalandhar parliamentary seat, the Doaba hinterland. As Sushil Rinku's victory, AAP has got a Dalit face in the region of Doaba which has 42 percent of people belonging to the Dalit Community. This may also help the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming 2023 General elections as the issue of Dalits is always a burning agenda of every political party.
2) Free Electricity to 87 percent of people
Another factor that contributed to AAP's record victory in the Jalandhar Bypoll 2023 is the 'free electricity'. Months after coming to power, Bhagwant Mann-led government announced free 300 units of power every month to domestic consumers. Presenting the budget for the 2023-24 fiscal, state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that 87% of domestic consumers in Punjab are benefitting from the scheme and are getting zero bills. There are 76 lakh domestic consumers in the state. Free electricity was among the major pre-poll promise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With AAP securing the Jalandhar Bypolls in their favour, free electricity for the people of Punjab might have helped the party to woo the voters since they delivered what they had promised.
3) AAP's firm stance against corruption
AAP's foundation as a political party was done under the tagline that it will drive out corruption. Similarly, AAP had promised the people of Punjab that it will run a corruption-free government and will identify who looted the people of Punjab while being in government or in administration. yet again, walking the talk, on the direction of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Vigilance Bureau launched a massive crackdown against senior Police officers, political leaders and even its own leaders who were involved in corruption. Vijay Singla, who was then the health minister of Punjab, was arrested for allegedly demanding a 1% commission for a tender. Thereafter, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amit Rattan Kotfatta was arrested from Punjab’s Patiala district in a corruption case a week after his aide was caught accepting ₹4 lakh bribe. With Jalandhar Bypoll 2023 have concluded, it is expected that the anti-corruption bureau will lamp up its against corruption including against former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi.
4) Crackdown against Amritpal Singh
There were questions raised on Punjab Police after the pro-Khalistan leader & Waris Punjab De Chief fled and remained on the run for many days. However, Punjab Police stern action against the 'anti-national' elements and Bhagwant Mann's decisive action put the fugitive and his aides behind bars. During the joint press conference on Saturday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pointed out Mann's government action against Amritpal and stated that he appreciated the Punjab CM for being so decisive in capturing Amritpal Singh. AAP Supremo further said that Amritpal Singh's arrest also put an end to the debate which was going on saying how first time the government can handle a border state like Punjab in the context of law and order.
5) Mohalla Clinics
During the joint press conference, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann stated that the Aam Aadmi Party did not do divisive politics but asked for votes based on the work done by his government in past 14 months. Mann and Kejriwal both mentioned that the State government installed Mohalla Clinics which was appreciated by the common people of Punjab and that is the reason why AAP was able to win the Jalandhar Lok Sabha Byelection by a massive margin of more than 60,000 votes. For the unversed, Mohalla Clinics, are primary health centers that offer a basic package of essential health services including medicines, diagnostics, and consultation free of cost.
6)29,000 government jobs
During the joint press conference, AAP Supremo Kejriwal highlighted the 29,000 jobs which the Mann government issued in a span of just 14 months of governance. Not only this, not even a single question ere raised on the vacancy of 29,000 government jobs, which shows the transparency the AAP-led Punjab Government kept in their governance.
Jalandhar Lok Sabha Byelection 2023
The Jalandhar Byelection was vital for the AAP as Doaba was considered the fort of Congress in Punjab. In the last election, Congress had performed well in Doaba. In fact, out of 9 seats of the Jalandhar constituency, 5 were won by the Congress party. As Sushil Rinku has finally won the Jalandhar Bypolls 2023, factors like free power which was given to 87 percent of the people, a crackdown on corruption, transparency in government jobs, and installation of mohalla clinics which is the basic package of essential health services including medicines, diagnostics, and consultation free of cost have won the voters. Having lost the Sangrur seat, the victory in Jalandhar Bypolls once again shows that the people of Punjab have faith in the Bhagwant Mann-led government. Not only this, AAP has also got a Dalit face in the region of Doaba where 42 percent of people belong to the Dalit Community. This might also favour the AAP in the upcoming 2024 General Elections.