Punjab News: AAP's Sanjeev Arora Wins Ludhiana West Bypoll By Over 10,000 Votes

Chandigarh: The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate and sitting Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora on Monday won the high-stakes Ludhiana West assembly by-election with a big margin of over 10,000 votes defeating Congress’ former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu.

An AAP Rajya Sabha member, Arora finished with over 35,179 votes while Ashu, a former minister, could get 24,542 votes in the bypoll which was closely watched as a bellwether for the state’s assembly polls in 2027.

While BJP’s Jiwan Gupta, finished third with 20,323 votes, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Parupkar Singh Ghuman came fourth with 8,203 votes.

The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of AAP legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi who died when his gun went off accidently at his house in January this year.

There were 14 candidates in all in the fray in the bypoll held on January 19. The bypoll saw a 51.33% voters turnout – a sharp drop from the 64% voting in 2022 state polls.

AAP’s VOTE SHARE UP, CONG’S DROPS

Of the total 90,160 votes polled, Arora got 39.02% and Ashu, 27.22%, Gupta, 22.54% and Ghumman vote share was 9.1%. In 2022, AAP’s vote share was 34.46% and Ashu’s, 28.06%. Likewise, while BJP’s vote share was 23.95%, SAD’s vote share improved from 2022’s 8.58%.

The seat, nonetheless, was being seen as a tough challenge for ruling AAP as Ashu had won this seat twice – 2012 and 2017 and that the seat being urban, with about 65% Hindu voters and mostly traders and businessmen, considered to be traditionally BJP voters.

However, the AAP in a strategic move, was first to announce the name of its Rajya Sabha member Arora, a first-timer, who did not have any past political baggage. The voters went with AAP with about 19 months still left for the 2027 state assembly polls.

However, AAP’s win which came as a big morale boosters for it after the party faced a drubbing in the Delhi assembly polls in February earlier this year, notwithstanding, a sharp drop in the voters’ turnout this election – lowest since 2002, indicates disillusionment among the people.