CHANDIGARH: With the announcement of by-elections to the Ludhiana (West) assembly constituency in Punjab, to be held on June 19, the battle lines are drawn.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hopes to retain the seat, but given the recent electoral history of this segment, the bypoll is not likely to be a cakewalk for the party, especially after its rout in the Delhi assembly elections.
According to the schedule released by the Election Commission of India, the official notification will be issued on May 26. The last date for filing nominations is June 2, and scrutiny of the papers will take place on June 3.
Candidates can withdraw their nominations until June 5. The counting of votes will take place on June 23. The Model Code of Conduct has come into immediate effect.
This by-election is being held following the demise of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi.
All three major political parties in the state have already announced their candidates. AAP has named Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora, an industrialist now known for his work in social welfare.
The Congress has fielded former minister and two-time MLA from this seat, Bharat Bhushan Ashu. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has nominated Parupkar Singh Ghuman, while the BJP is yet to announce its candidate.
A few days ago, AAP supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the party’s campaign for the upcoming assembly bypoll.
In last year’s parliamentary elections, AAP’s Ashok Parashar alias Pappi finished a distant third on the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, which was won by Amarinder Raja Warring of the Congress.
Ravneet Singh alias Bittu of the BJP, who was earlier in Congress and the sitting MP from this seat, finished second.
Out of the nine assembly segments under the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, including Ludhiana (West), the BJP led in five urban constituencies, and the Congress led in four segments, including two rural ones. The ruling AAP failed to lead in any of the nine segments.
It was a similar situation in the Municipal Corporation Elections in December last year. AAP won 41 out of 85 wards, falling short of a majority by seven seats, while Congress won 30 and BJP secured 18 wards. Notably, the wives of the then MLA Gurpreet Gogi (who is now deceased) and Ashok Parashar lost from their respective wards.
Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress was arrested when the AAP government came to power in the state three years ago in connection with a foodgrains scam.
He remained behind bars for two years. However, in December last year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the FIRs registered against him, terming them “pure vendetta”.
Both Arora and Ashu have already started door-to-door campaigns and are holding public meetings. The contest is expected to grow even more intense in the coming days.