Punjab: Ludhiana West bypoll to take place on Jun 19; AAP aims to retain seat

Chandigarh, May 25 (PTI) The bypoll to Ludhiana West assembly seat in Punjab will take place on June 19 and the counting will be held on June 23, officials said on Sunday.

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the bypoll on Sunday.

The bypolls to four other assembly constituencies -- ”two in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and West Bengal -- ”will also be held on June 19, the EC said.

The Ludhiana West seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which announced the name of Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as its candidate in February itself, aims to retain the seat.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said as per the by-election schedule, the notification will be issued on May 26.

The last date for filing nominations is June 2 and scrutiny of nominations will take place on June 3, he said, adding the last date for the withdrawal of nominations is June 5.

The Punjab CEO further said that nomination papers can be submitted from May 26 to June 2 except June 1 when it is Sunday. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on June 19, he said.

He also said the by-election will be conducted in a transparent way.

Various political parties have already declared their candidates for the Ludhiana West bypoll.

Known for his social welfare work, AAP's 61-year-old Arora, a Ludhiana-based industrialist, runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2022.

The Congress has fielded former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who is two-time (2012 and 2017) MLA from this seat.

Ashu was defeated by AAP's Gogi by a margin of 7,512 votes in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.

The Shiromani Akali Dal has nominated Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer, for the bypoll.

The BJP is yet to name its candidate.

Following the announcement of the bypoll date, political activity in Ludhiana has gained momentum.

Speaking to reporters in Ludhiana, AAP candidate Arora said his party was fully ready to contest the bypoll.

"I was campaigning when I came to know about the announcement of the polling date... We are fully ready," he said.

On the opposition's charge that it will be a demotion for him by contesting an assembly election since he is the MP, Arora asked his rivals to see the political history of the country and said that many Union cabinet ministers in the past had contested the MLA elections.

To another question, Arora said the party asked him to fight the bypoll.

On allegations that he generally stayed in Delhi, Arora said he was born and brought up in Ludhiana. He said that his residence was in Ludhiana.

Congress candidate Ashu, who is also Punjab Congress working president, said he was waiting for the date of the "final battle" which has been announced by the Election Commission on Sunday.

"We were waiting for the date of FINAL BATTLE and it has been announced by the Election Commission of India today," Ashu said in a post on X.

He said the Congress will give its best in this battle.

"The final arbiters are the people of the Ludhiana West, as we say, the JANTA JANARDHAN. We leave our case with the JANTA JANARDHAN with all humility and respect for their choice.

"At the same time, I am confident that the JANTA JANARDHAN has tried and tested everyone and is in the best position to make the right choice this time," he said.

Earlier, Ashu had claimed that his electoral fight was not against the AAP candidate, but party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who was allegedly fighting for his own backdoor entry to Rajya Sabha from Punjab. PTI CHS KVK KVK