Bypolls for 4 Punjab Assembly seats on Nov 13, counting on Nov 23

/Punjab’s four assembly constituencies — Gidderbaha, Barnala, Dera Baba Nanak, and Chabbewal — are all set to go to polls on November 13, followed by counting on November 23.

Election Commission on Tuesday announced the byelection schedule for four assembly constituencies in Punjab. These seats have been vacant following the election of the sitting MLAs to the Parliament during the Lok Sabha elections.

The four constituencies were left without representatives after their respective MLAs were elected as Members of Parliament. Among the seats, three were held by the Congress party, and one by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The vacancy in Barnala arose when former Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, AAP MLA, was elected MP from Sangrur. Similarly, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring vacated the Gidderbaha seat after securing the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat for Congress. Dr Rajkumar Chabbewal, Congress’ former MLA from Chabbewal segment, now serves as Hoshiarpur MP as AAP representative. Former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, representing the Congress, was also elected to Parliament from Gurdaspur, leaving the Dera Baba Nanak seat vacant.

As the by-elections approach, political activity in Punjab is heating up. The major parties — Congress, AAP, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — are all gearing up for the crucial contests. Each party has appointed in-charges and sub-in-charges for these seats, and high-level meetings are taking place to finalize strategies. The SAD, for instance, held a core committee meeting two days ago, while the Congress has already sketched out its electoral blueprint.

The ruling AAP government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has also ramped up development works in the respective constituencies to secure voter goodwill. Chief Minister Mann has already toured all four constituencies to assess local issues and promise further reforms.

The district election officers for the four constituencies have also been appointed. Deputy Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta will oversee the electoral process in Dera Baba Nanak, while Komal Mittal, Hoshiarpur DC, has been appointed for Chabbewal. Rajesh Tripathi, Sri Muktsar Sahib DC, will manage Gidderbaha, and Poonamdeep Kaur, Barnala DC, will be in-charge of Barnala.

With the announcement of the bypolls, the Model Code of Conduct has been enforced in the districts where the four constituencies are located — Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Barnala. The code will remain in place until the election process concludes on November 25.