Voting is underway for the Ludhiana West by-election, which was called after the sudden passing of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi earlier this year in January.
By 1 PM today, around 33.42% of registered voters had cast their vote. The polling began at 7 AM, and by 9 AM, turnout was just 8.50%, but it picked up as the day went on. By 11 AM, turnout had risen to 21.51%. Voting will continue until 6 PM, and the results will be counted on June 23.
Some voters came early in the morning to beat the afternoon heat, which has been quite intense in the region.
There are 14 candidates in the fray, but the main contest is between four major parties. The ruling AAP has fielded Sanjeev Arora (61), a Rajya Sabha MP and Ludhiana-based businessman known for his social work. The Congress is represented by Bharat Bhushan Ashu (51), a former minister who has already served as MLA from this seat twice before. He lost in 2022 to the late Gogi by 7,512 votes. The BJP candidate is Jiwan Gupta, a senior party leader and member of BJP’s core committee in Punjab. He has also served as state general secretary.The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer and former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association.
In total, 1,75,469 voters are eligible to vote in this by-election.
Stay tuned for more updates as the voting progresses and final results are announced on June 23.
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