Punjab bypoll: AAP's Mohinder Bhagat leading in Jalandhar West seat

Chandigarh: AAP candidate for the Jalandhar West assembly bypoll in Punjab Mohinder Bhagat was leading against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Surinder Kaur, according to initial trends.

Bhagat was ahead of Kaur by 11,778 votes after four rounds of counting of votes that began at 8 am at the Lyallpur Khalsa College for Women here.

BJP candidate Sheetal Angural was at the third spot, according to the trends.

BSP nominee Binder Kumar was at the fourth spot while SAD candidate Surjit Kaur at fifth.

The bypoll was necessitated after the seat fell vacant following the resignation of Angural as the AAP legislator. He joined the BJP in March.

Polling in the seat took place on Wednesday and a voter turnout of 54.98 per cent was recorded, a sharp drop from the 67 per cent the assembly segment saw in the 2022 state elections.