Ludhiana West bypoll: Voting begins for high-stakes election; 1.74 lakh voters to seal the fate of 14 in fray

AAP has fielded its Rajya Sabha member cum industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the bypoll, but his candidature kicked up another political storm for the party as Opposition alleged that he was fielded to make Kejriwal enter the Rajya Sabha. With his individual assets pegged at Rs 288 crore, Arora is the richest poll candidate in Punjab in recent years.

The bypoll has been necessitated after AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi died of self-inflicted bullet injury in January this year. In this constituency established since 1977, ten elections have been held so far, but this is the first ever bypoll. Of the ten contests, six were won by Congress, two by SAD, and one each by AAP and erstwhile Janata Party. Most recently in 2012 and 2017, Congress won, and in 2022, AAP.

Even as Ludhiana, an industrial city with the population of over 15 lakhs, is plagued with several issues such as severe air, noise pollution, lack of tree cover and green areas, stray dogs, pathetic roads, traffic congestion, lack of parking areas and deteriorating law and order- any of these hardly found a mention in the high-pitched campaigning and mudslinging that parties engaged in, beginning as early as March even when the bypoll was not even announced.

In the four-cornered political battle, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab has a lot at stake in this bypoll.

The ruling AAP and its candidate Arora built his campaign targeting Congress candidate and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu over the latter’s gussa (anger) and ahankaar (arrogance), as huge hoardings of AAP with the slogan “Na gussa, na hankaar, Sanjeev Arora iss vaar” (Neither anger, nor arrogance, elect Sanjeev Arora this time), flooded the entire city for nearly two months.

The bypoll’s high stakes for ruling AAP can be gauged from the fact that Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Man had hit the ground in Ludhiana in March itself, visiting colonies and interacting with the voters. Arora is contesting his first election as earlier he was directly nominated to RS.

Arora meanwhile has been dubbed as “baahari” (outsider) and “paise wala” (rich) candidate by the candidates of Opposition parties, who according to them “neither lives in Ludhiana, nor would be able to understand problems of common people.”

Congress’s Ashu is eyeing a return after he lost to AAP’s Gogi in 2022, and thereafter spent over a year in jail after being arrested in an alleged corruption case after AAP came to power. However, the FIRs against him were quashed by the High Court.

What might cost him dear is the wide open factionalism in Congress with Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa largely staying away from his campaign.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded advocate Parupkar Singh Ghumman, known for fighting cases for underprivileged pro bono. The 100-year-old party is however facing an existential crisis since it lost 2017 Punjab assembly polls, and is hoping to find its footing again in Punjab’s political landscape.

What can emerge as a bigger worry for ruling AAP and Congress is the emergence of BJP as an independent contender, SAD’s former ally. In 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP secured the highest votes from the Ludhiana West segment, pushing AAP to distant third. BJP has fielded its general secretary Jiwan Gupta, a local face.

Both Ghumman and Gupta are also contesting their first election.

The election has witnessed widesp allegations of freebies and cash distribution against the ruling AAP, with the Opposition filing multiple complaints to the Election Commission.

Opposition parties including the Congress, SAD and BJP have announced that “AAP’s defeat in Ludhiana bypoll would be a beginning of badlaav (change) in Punjab” ahead of 2027 assembly elections.

What the candidates have promised:

Sanjeev Arora (AAP): “Ludhiana would soon see road infrastructure resembling that of European countries. The roads would be redesigned taking inspiration from Europe’s efficient road networks. Potholes will be fixed and damaged roads will be reconstructed within 100 days. Thousands of trees will be planted. ”

Bharat Bhushan Ashu (INC): “Punjab de faisle Punjabi lainge (Only Punjabis will take decisions related to Punjab). In my past two tenures, 50-60 acres in Ludhiana West were turned into Green Area. People should vote for Congress to get rid of deteriorating law and order. Can (Arvind) Kejriwal answer what will be the status of Rajya Sabha seat if Arora wins or loses?”

Jiwan Gupta (BJP): “It’s time to make a difference and vote for progress and growth. People have already chosen Congress, AAP and SAD in the past. Now they should also try BJP in Punjab. Deteriorating law and order and corruption are the biggest issues under AAP.”

Parupkar Singh Ghumman (SAD): “People should vote for me for creating an environment for development, justice and security. As an advocate, I have fought legal battles of the underprivileged and I understand what justice means for common man. I will ensure every citizen’s voice is my constituency is heard.”