LUDHIANA, June 23 — Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Sanjeev Arora maintained a steady lead in the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll on Monday, pulling ahead of Congress nominee Bharat Bhushan Ashu by 2,504 votes after five rounds of counting, according to early trends released by election officials.
By 11:30 a.m., Arora had secured 12,320 votes, while Ashu, a former state minister, trailed with 9,816 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jiwan Gupta, who was briefly ahead of Ashu during the third round, slipped to the third position with 8,831 votes. The Shiromani Akali Dal’s Parupkar Singh Ghuman was further behind, polling 2,959 votes.
A total of 14 candidates contested the high-stakes by-election, which was held on June 19 following the death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. Gogi’s demise left a vacuum in a seat that AAP had captured in the 2022 Assembly elections with considerable support.
The counting began at 8 a.m. at the designated centre in Khalsa College for Women amid tight security arrangements. AAP workers and local leaders expressed confidence in retaining the seat. “The people of Ludhiana West know the work done by the AAP government, and that trust is being reflected in the numbers,” said an AAP spokesperson at the counting centre.
However, the voter turnout—recorded at 51.33 percent—marked a significant decline from the 64 percent turnout seen during the 2022 state elections. The dip raised concerns among opposition parties, with Congress representatives blaming public disillusionment and BJP leaders alleging a lack of enthusiasm due to the state’s political instability.
Still, the contest for second place remains tight between Ashu and Gupta, with both parties hoping to gain momentum ahead of upcoming civic polls. “It’s too early to predict the final outcome, but we are seeing positive signs,” said a BJP booth-level agent present at the site.
The Election Commission is expected to complete all counting rounds by late afternoon, when the official result will be declared.
