Chandigarh, June 23 (IANS) The state ruling Aam Adami Party (AAP) that was riding high on its “overall development and pro-people policies” in the past three years on Monday retained its Ludhiana (West) Assembly seat despite seeing a low turnout of 51.33 per cent — a drop from the 64 per cent in the 2022 Assembly polls.

However, prominent Opposition parties, the Congress, the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), entered the poll fray with the slogan of “badlaav (change)” ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.

AAP’s Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Sanjeev Arora, who was leading from the first round, defeated his closest rival and two-time legislator Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress by a margin of 10,637 votes.

BJP’s greenhorn Jiwan Gupta finished third.

Arora, who started his campaign in March, polled 35,179 votes, while the Congress leader Ashu got 24,542 votes and the BJP’s Gupta 20,323 votes.

The Akali Dal candidate got just 8,203 votes.

Responding to the party’s re-win, Punjab AAP in-charge, who campaigned ahead of polling, told the media, “Sanjeev Arora has won the Ludhiana (West) bypoll, and the people have shown that they are very happy with the work done by the Mann-led Punjab government.”

The bypoll was necessitated after AAP Ludhiana (West) legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi died of a “self-inflicted bullet injury” in January.

Thanking all voters for the victory, state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “This is a victory of the party, of the government, of our work, of our policies…I think in the time to come, AAP will form a government in Punjab in 2027 again.”

Asked about his top priorities after his maiden entry into the state legislative assembly, AAP legislator Arora, a prominent social worker in Ludhiana, replied, “Development, development, development.”

Punjab AAP President Aman Arora gave the credit for the party’s victory to Arvind Kejriwal’s policies, the Mann government’s works, the hard work of party workers and the decency of Sanjeev Arora.

Accepting the verdict of the people and extending congratulations to Arora, BJP Member of Parliament from Ludhiana, Ravneet Bittu, said, “I hope he will work sincerely for the progress and development of Ludhiana.”

He said the party’s candidate, Gupta, who secured over 20,000 votes in just 14 days of campaigning, was a remarkable achievement.

“While AAP may be celebrating their victory, a closer look at the numbers shows that the combined vote share of the Opposition far exceeds that of the ruling party. This speaks volumes about the growing discontent on the ground,” he wrote on X.

“My gratitude to all BJP workers and leaders whose tireless efforts made this result possible. Let’s continue to move forward with dedication and resolve,” Bittu added.

“Congratulations to all on the party’s spectacular victory,” Chief Minister Mann said, adding that, “This victory with a huge lead is a clear indication that the people of the state are very happy with the work of our government. We are working day and night without any discrimination and with complete honesty for the progress and prosperity of Punjab”.

–IANS

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