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The Print
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Punjab: Over 33 polling till 1 pm in Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll
District Election Officer Himanshu Jain said voting is going on peacefully. Amid tight security, the polling began at 7 am and it will continue till 6 pm. The counting of votes will be held on June 23. Ludhiana, Jun 19 (PTI) A voter turnout of 33.42 percent was recorded till 1 pm in the bypoll for the Ludhiana West Assembly in Punjab on Thursday. Jain asked voters to set a new record of turnout by coming out in massive numbers to cast their votes. He said polling will continue until the last voter is present inside the polling station. The Ludhiana West Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. There are a total of 14 candidates in the fray and 1,75,469 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise – 85,371 of them women and 10 belonging to the third gender. AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora exercised his franchise along with his family members. Before casting votes, Arora paid obeisance at a gurdwara, a temple and the Dargah Pir in Phillaur. Speaking to reporters, Arora appealed to the people to come out in large numbers to cast their votes. 'Please come out to vote and have maximum voting today,' he said. Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu, BJP nominee Jiwan Gupta and SAD's Parupkar Singh Ghuman also cast their votes. Ahead of the polling, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appealed to voters to cast their votes. 'My appeal to the voters of Ludhiana West is that you must exercise your right to vote. You must fulfil your duty for the development and progress of your area. Do not consider today a holiday, definitely go and cast your vote,' Mann said in a post on X in Punjabi. A total of 194 polling stations have been set up with 100 per cent live webcasting of polling stations, officials said. Outside the entrance of polling stations, designated counters were set up for voters to securely deposit their mobile devices. These counters were managed by trained volunteers using jute or cloth bag mobile holders. 'In a first-of-its-kind initiative, all polling stations in Ludhiana West have made arrangements for safe mobile phone deposit aims to enhance the voter experience while at the same time upholding the secrecy of voting,' the chief electoral officer, Punjab said in a post on X. Polling stations were equipped with poll volunteers, wheelchairs and help desk to assist voters, said officials. The voting process is being monitored in real-time from the integrated command and control centre located at the district administrative complex. As many as 235 CCTV cameras have been installed at polling stations, said officials. The ruling AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha member Arora for the bypoll. Arora (61) is a Ludhiana-based industrialist and is also known for his social welfare work. He runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust. The Congress has placed its bet on former minister and Punjab Congress working president Ashu (51). Ashu had been MLA twice from this seat in 2012 and 2017. He was defeated by Gogi by a margin of 7,512 votes in the 2022 Assembly polls. The BJP candidate is a member of the core committee of Punjab BJP. He was earlier the party's state general secretary. The Ludhiana West bypoll is seen as a litmus test for Mann and the ruling party's national leadership which aggressively campaigned to retain this seat. The bypoll's outcome will throw light on the popularity of the AAP regime's policies and programmes among urban voters in the constituency. Stakes are also high for the Congress as it would want to wrest the seat, which it had won six times in the past. Prestige is at stake for the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal in the bypoll as well. PTI CHS VSD DV DV This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Ludhiana West assembly bypoll sees 33% voter turnout till 1pm
A voter turnout of 33.42% was recorded till 1pm in the polling for the Ludhiana West Assembly byelection in Punjab on Thursday. Polling began under tight security at 7am and it will continue till 6pm. The counting of votes will be held on June 23. The Ludhiana West assembly seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. There are 14 candidates in the fray and 1,75,469 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Of them, 85,371 are women and 10 belong to the third gender. AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora reached a polling station along with his family members to exercise his franchise in the morning. Before casting their votes, the Aroras paid obeisance at a gurdwara, a temple and the Dargah Pir in Phillaur. Speaking to reporters, Arora appealed to the people to come out in large numbers to vote. Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu, BJP nominee Jiwan Gupta and Shiromani Akali Dal's Parupkar Singh Ghuman also cast their votes. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann took to social media to urge voters to cast their vote. 'My appeal to the voters of Ludhiana West is that you must exercise your right to vote. You must fulfil your duty for the development and progress of your area. Do not consider today a holiday, definitely go and cast your vote,' Mann posted on X in Punjabi. Ludhiana deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Himanshu Jain also cast his vote in the bypoll. A total of 194 polling stations have been set up with live webcasting facility. Designated counters have been set up at the entrance of polling stations for voters to securely deposit their mobile devices. These counters were managed by trained volunteers using jute or cloth bag mobile holders. 'In a first-of-its-kind initiative, all polling stations in Ludhiana West have made arrangements for safe mobile phone deposit aims to enhance the voter experience while at the same time upholding the secrecy of voting,' the chief electoral officer, Punjab said in a post on X. Polling stations were equipped with poll volunteers, wheelchairs and help desk to assist voters, said officials. The voting process is being monitored in real-time from the integrated command and control centre at the district administrative complex. As many as 235 CCTV cameras have been installed at polling stations. The ruling AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha member Arora for the bypoll. Arora, 61, is a Ludhiana-based industrialist and is also known for his social work. He runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust. The Congress has nominated former minister and Punjab Congress working president Ashu, 51. Ashu had been MLA twice from this seat in 2012 and 2017. He was defeated by Gogi by 7,512 votes in the 2022 assembly polls. The BJP candidate is a member of the core committee of Punjab BJP. Gupta was earlier the party's state general secretary. The Ludhiana West bypoll is seen as a litmus test for Mann and the ruling party's national leadership which aggressively campaigned to retain this seat.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Ludhiana West bypoll: Voting begins for high-stakes election; 1.74 lakh voters to seal the fate of 14 in fray
The voting for the Ludhiana West bypoll, an urban constituency in Punjab, started 7 am, Thursday. A total of 1.74 lakh registered voters will vote after 20 days of intense campaigning which saw more of personal mudslinging by candidates than a focus on the multiple issues that plague this posh, urban constituency of Punjab. Much to the dismay of the common people, the campaigning for the bypoll revolved more around the personal and behavioural traits of candidates such as gussa (anger) and ahankaar (arrogance), than the development issues that need attention. In the four-cornered political battle, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab has a lot at stake in this bypoll, months after it faced defeat in Delhi assembly polls, including its national convener Arvind Kejriwal losing. 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. 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.' Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Punjab. Her interest lies in exploring both news and feature stories, with an effort to reflect human interest at the heart of each piece. She writes on gender issues, education, politics, Sikh diaspora, heritage, the Partition among other subjects. She has also extensively covered issues of minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also explores the legacy of India's partition and distinct stories from both West and East Punjab. She is a gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, the most revered government institute for media studies in India, from where she pursued English Journalism (Print). Her research work on 'Role of micro-blogging platform Twitter in content generation in newspapers' had won accolades at IIMC. She had started her career in print journalism with Hindustan Times before switching to The Indian Express in 2012. Her investigative report in 2019 on gender disparity while treating women drug addicts in Punjab won her the Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2020. She won another Laadli for her ground report on the struggle of two girls who ride a boat to reach their school in the border village of Punjab. ... Read More
India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Voting begins for Assembly bypolls in 4 states, key test for NDA and INDIA bloc
Voting for by-elections to five Assembly seats across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala will begin at 7 am today, June 19. Though the number of constituencies is limited, the stakes are significant for both the ruling NDA and the INDIA bloc, with several local-level prestige battles and alliance tensions coming to the AAP AIMS TO RETAIN LUDHIANA WESTIn Ludhiana (West), the bypoll has been scheduled owing to the death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi. The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora to retain its hold on the urban seat. Arora faces Bharat Bhushan Ashu from Congress, Jiwan Gupta from BJP, and Parupkar Singh Ghumman from the Shiromani Akali contest is being closely watched not only for the seat itself but for its potential implications for the Rajya Sabha. A win for Arora may open the door for AAP to nominate former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal or his former deputy Manish Sisodia to the Upper House, though the party has denied such plans. Campaigning saw top leaders from both camps in action, with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal, and Atishi backing AAP, and BJP deploying Delhi and Haryana CMs Rekha Gupta and Nayab Singh Saini. Despite having fought the 2024 general elections in an alliance, AAP and Congress are pitted against each other in this crucial BENGAL: KALIGANJ VOTE SHAPED BY MINORITY OUTREACHIn West Bengal, the bypoll in Kaliganj follows the death of TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed. The ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded his daughter, Alifa Ahmed, in a move aimed at consolidating both women and minority voters. BJP has fielded Ashish Ghosh, a grassroots party functionary, while the Congress-Left alliance has nominated Kabil Uddin ahead of the 2026 assembly election and amid controversies such as the teacher recruitment scam, the Kaliganj bypoll holds symbolic weight for Mamata Banerjee's party. The TMC, which had wrested the seat from Congress in 2021, is confident of retaining its hold, while the Congress-Left front hopes to revive its rural TRIANGULAR FIGHTS IN KADI AND VISAVADARBypolls in Gujarat are being held in Kadi and Visavadar. In Kadi, the seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Karsanbhai Solanki. BJP has fielded Rajendra Chavda, Congress has nominated Ramesh Chavda, and AAP has fielded Jagdish Chavda. The contest could reveal the Dalit community's voting patterns in the saw its sitting MLA Bhayani Bhupendrabhai resign from AAP and join BJP. BJP has now fielded Kirit Patel, while Congress has put up Nitin Ranpariya. AAP has fielded prominent party leader Gopal Italia. The fight is expected to be triangular, with local dynamics and defections playing a key NILAMBUR TURNS INTO MULTI-CORNERED CONTESTIn Nilambur, the bypoll comes less than a year before the next Assembly election in Kerala. The seat was vacated by P.V. Anvar, a two-time winner with Left backing who later aligned with the Congress before eventually entering the fray as an has fielded Aryadan Shoukath, son of former MLA Aryadan Mohammed, while the ruling LDF has named M. Swaraj as its candidate. Anvar's candidacy, initially floated under the TMC banner, has added an unpredictable dimension to the contest. Nilambur, which falls under Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency now held by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has become a prestige seat for both of votes for all five seats will take place on June 23.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: 1.7L voters to lock nominees' fate today
As many as 1.74 lakh voters in Ludhiana West will exercise their right to franchise on Thursday in the by-election which has 14 candidates in fray. The bypoll comes after 20 days of campaigning and will be followed by the counting of votes on June 23. The election is expected to witness a tight four-cornered contest among the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). AAP has nominated Sanjeev Arora, a sitting Rajya Sabha MP and prominent industrialist, whose declared assets, including those of his spouse, amount to ₹301 crore. This makes him the richest candidate in the recent Punjab elections. Arora's candidature has triggered criticism from Opposition leaders who allege that he was made to contest merely to secure a Rajya Sabha seat for Arvind Kejriwal. The Congress has placed its hopes on Bharat Bhushan Ashu, a seasoned politician, former cabinet minister and two-time MLA. The BJP has fielded Jiwan Gupta, a local leader and the party's general secretary, who is contesting his first election. Similarly, the SAD has nominated advocate Parupkar Singh Ghumman, who is known for offering free legal aid to the poor. Both Gupta and Ghumman are debutants in the electoral arena. The by-election was necessitated due to the unfortunate death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi in an accidental firing incident in January. Since the formation of the Ludhiana West seat in 1977, the constituency has witnessed 10 elections. The Congress has won six of these, SAD two, while AAP and the former Janata Party have secured victory once each. In 2022, AAP's Gogi defeated Congress' Ashu, marking AAP's first win from this constituency. The district administration has made extensive preparations to ensure a smooth polling process. District electoral officer and deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain has confirmed that all 194 polling stations will be equipped with masks, sanitizers, tents, fans, drinking water, wheelchairs and ramps to facilitate voters. Strict Covid-19 safety measures will be in place and polling will be closely monitored through webcasting to maintain transparency. In an innovative move, the Election Commission of India has introduced a mobile phone deposit facility at every polling booth this time. Special arrangements have also been made to encourage inclusive voting. A women-staffed polling station has been set up at Lodhi Club in Rajguru Nagar. Persons with disabilities (PwDs) will manage a polling station at BVM School in Kitchlu Nagar, while a green polling station has been established inside the PAU campus at the Government Senior Secondary School. Ten model polling booths have also been created to showcase ideal voting conditions. Additionally, the 'Vote from Home' initiative has been launched for senior citizens and voters with disabilities. On the eve of the election, 194 polling teams departed from Khalsa College for Women in GPS-enabled vehicles to reach their designated locations. Security arrangements have also been tightened in the constituency. Additional deputy commissioner of police (operations) Ramandeep Singh Bhullar stated that 60 checkpoints have been established and 19 patrol teams are actively monitoring the area. There are also 21 flying squads and nine strategic surveillance teams in place. More than 1,000 police personnel will be deployed on election day to ensure law and order. Historically, Ludhiana West has recorded strong voter turnouts. Since 1977, voter participation has consistently stayed above 55%. In 2012, 2017 and 2022, the voter turnout crossed the 60% mark, reaching close to 70% in 2012 and 2017. The political stakes are high, particularly for AAP, which is looking to recover from its recent defeat in the Delhi assembly elections, where even party leader Arvind Kejriwal lost his seat. Arora, contesting his first assembly election after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha, is seen as a key figure in AAP's plan to regain ground. Congress' Bharat Bhushan Ashu is aiming for a comeback after losing in 2022 and spending over a year in jail following a corruption case. Though the high court quashed the charges against him, internal rifts within the party may affect his prospects. The SAD, once a dominant player in Punjab politics, is attempting to rebuild its influence after two successive electoral defeats in 2017 and 2022. The party is banking on Ghumman's clean image and social work to strike a chord with voters, but it faces an uphill battle to regain relevance. Meanwhile, the BJP is trying to gain foothold in Punjab. The party performed strongly in Ludhiana West during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where it secured the highest number of votes in the segment, pushing AAP to a distant third. Its candidate Jiwan Gupta, a local resident, hopes to ride on this momentum to achieve victory in his maiden electoral contest.
