Chandigarh: The Ludhiana West high-stakes by-election went off peacefully with around 51.3% turnout on Thursday.
Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said that the approximate voter turnout as per data uploaded till 7 pm was 51.33%.
According to official information, till 3 pm, about 41% turnout was recorded for the seat which fell vacant after the death of AAP legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January this year. He died at his home of a gunshot after his licensed weapon accidentally went off.
The voting began at all the booths at 7 am and by 9 am, the polling percentage was about 8%, till 11 am, it was 21% and till 1 pm, it was 33%.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded its Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora, 61, for this bypoll; He is a Ludhiana-based industrialist and is known for his social welfare works.
The principal opposition party, Congress has fielded former minister and party working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu, 51; He has been a legislator twice from this seat in 2012 and 2017 and was defeated by AAP’s Gogi in 2022.
The BJP’s nominee is party senior leader Jiwan Gupta, a member of party’s core committee; The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a known lawyer and former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association.
The counting of the votes will be held on June 23.
This bypoll is being seen as a battle of prestige for the chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government as well as the AAP’s national leadership which aggressively campaigned to retain this seat, for it desperately needs to prevail so as to also boost its cadres after AAP’s drubbing in Delhi; For, Punjab is the only AAP-ruled state in the country.
