Ludhiana West Bypoll Vote Counting Underway Amidst Heavy Security

Ludhiana, June 23 (PTI) The counting of votes for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll in Punjab commenced at 8 am on Monday. The bypoll, prompted by the demise of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January, was conducted on June 19. A voter turnout of 51.33% was recorded, a significant decrease from the 64% turnout seen during the 2022 Assembly elections. Fourteen candidates contested the bypoll.

A foolproof security arrangement was implemented at Khalsa College for Women, which serves as the counting centre, according to an official. The vote counting process will consist of 14 rounds. The main political contenders in this bypoll were the Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress, the BJP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal.

The Aam Aadmi Party nominated Sanjeev Arora, a 61-year-old Rajya Sabha member and Ludhiana-based industrialist renowned for his social welfare activities. The opposition Congress fielded former minister and current Punjab Congress working president, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, aged 51.

The BJP's candidate was senior leader Jiwan Gupta, a member of the party’s core committee in Punjab. Meanwhile, the SAD put forward Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer and former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association, as its candidate.