Ludhiana MC polls: Congress announces candidates, a resurgent BJP goes solo

Congress announces candidates

The Congress on Tuesday announced its first list of 63 candidates for the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation polls scheduled for December 21. A majority of the tickets have been allotted to sitting councillors who won in 2018 or their kin.

Mamta Ashu, a three-time councillor and wife of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu—currently in jail in connection with the alleged foodgrain transportation scam—will contest from ward number 60.

The party has also given a ticket to Parminder Kaur, wife of Inderjit Indi, Ashu’s former personal assistant and a co-accused in the foodgrain scam. Parminder, contesting her first election from ward number 61, is likely to face Dr. Sukhchain Bassi, wife of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi. Indi is presently out on bail.

Leena Sharma, wife of two-time councillor Narinder Kala Sharma, Ashu’s cousin, will contest from ward number 71.

Sham Sunder Malhotra, the former senior deputy mayor, will once again contest from ward number 84, while Sarabjeet Kaur, the former deputy mayor, will contest from ward number 37.

Shalu Dawar, daughter-in-law of former Congress MLA Surinder Dawar, has been given a ticket for ward number 85. She had lost the previous election in 2018.

Dipika Bhalla, wife of Ashu’s close confidant Gagandeep Sunny Bhalla, will contest from ward number 69. Gagandeep, a former councillor, was also questioned by the vigilance department in connection with the foodgrain scam.

Former Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu will not contest this time, said the party’s Ludhiana urban chief Sanjay Talwar.
In the 2018 Ludhiana MC elections, Congress had swept 62 of 95 wards, while the then allies Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP, who have since parted ways, secured 21 seats collectively. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in alliance with the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), had won eight seats, with AAP securing just one. Six years later, AAP is the ruling party in Punjab with a decisive majority in the Vidhan Sabha. Congress’s Balkar Singh Sandhu was elected mayor in 2018. In 2012, the SAD-BJP alliance had held a majority in the Ludhiana MC House.

BJP banking on LS poll success in urban segments

The BJP is eyeing significant gains in the Ludhiana MC polls, leveraging its performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Though Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring won the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, BJP’s Ravneet Singh Bittu led in five urban assembly segments (North, West, East, South, and Central). Congress retained Atam Nagar and semi-urban Gill, but BJP’s defeat stemmed from its poor performance in rural segments Dakha and Jagraon.

AAP faced a complete rout in Ludhiana during the Lok Sabha polls, failing to lead in any of the nine assembly segments despite holding MLA seats in all. AAP attributed BJP’s success in urban Ludhiana to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ayodhya Ram Mandir card.”

BJP leader Parveen Bansal, the party’s former Ludhiana district president, said, “We will contest all 95 seats. The mayor will be ours. We won 66 urban wards in the recent Lok Sabha polls.”

Bittu, now a Union minister of state, added, “We are fully prepared. In the parliamentary elections, we won urban wards with huge margins. If BJP mayors are elected in Punjab, PM Modi will allocate thousands of crores for developing Punjab cities.”

“Delay in elections shows AAP’s lack of confidence”

Senior Congress leader and PPCC campaign committee chairman Rana KP Singh claimed the AAP government lacked trust among the people.
“People have been disillusioned. There’s no trust left in AAP. Congress will sweep the MC polls. The delay in holding these elections shows AAP’s lack of confidence,” Singh said.

Mamta Ashu, a three-time councillor and Congress ticket aspirant from Ward 60, criticised AAP MLAs. “For almost two years, there was no MC House, and AAP delayed the polls. Their MLAs should have ensured basic works like cleanliness were completed. People should judge whether Punjab has truly seen any ‘badlav’ (change).”

“Ram Mandir won’t work this time”

AAP Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi argued that civic polls would focus on local issues rather than national policies.

“In Lok Sabha polls, BJP played the Ram Mandir card, and voters were influenced by religious emotions. But Modi is not going to fix roads or sewage. Only ruling AAP candidates can work in sync with the state government to address local needs,” said Gogi, whose wife Dr Sukhchain Bassi is an AAP ticket aspirant from Ward 61.

“AAP scared… less time given for nominations”

Both BJP and Congress have accused the AAP government of rushing the civic polls, leaving little time for opposition candidates to file nominations.

BJP’s Ludhiana district president Rajnish Dhiman said, “This is the first time an election process will be completed in just 12 days. The voters’ list isn’t even ready. AAP is scared of BJP’s rise in Punjab, especially Ludhiana.”

Sanjay Talwar, Ludhiana urban head for Congress, said, “Despite the short timeframe, we are ready to fight all 95 seats.”

Meanwhile, the SAD, facing internal challenges with its president Sukhbir Singh Badal undergoing religious punishment, has also announced it will contest all 95 seats in Ludhiana.