Punjab: AAP’s Sanjeev Arora wins Ludhiana West assembly byelection
Aam Aadmi Party retains seat as Sanjeev Arora defeats Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress by 10,637 votes. BJP’s Jiwan Gupta finishes third and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Parupkar Ghuman fourth.
In a high-stakes byelection closely watched as a bellwether for the Punjab assembly elections in 2027, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday retained the Ludhiana West seat with Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora emerging victorious after defeating former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress by a convincing margin of 10,637 votes.
Arora secured a clear lead from the initial rounds of counting and maintained it till the 14th and final round, polling 35,179 votes, while Ashu got 24,542 votes.
BJP’s debutant candidate Jiwan Gupta finished third with 20,323 votes. Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Parupkar Singh Ghumman failed to make any impact with 8,203 votes, reflecting the SAD’s continued decline in urban Punjab.
AAP vote share improves, Congress sees drop
A total of 90,160 votes were polled, of which AAP’s Arora got 35,179 votes, which translated to 39.02% of the vote share. Ashu, who got 24,542 votes got 27.22% of the vote share, while BJP’s Gupta got 22.54% and SAD’s Ghumman 9.1% of the vote share..
As compared to its performance in the 2022 assembly elections, the AAP improved its vote share from 34.46% to 39.02%. However, the Congress’s vote share dropped from 28.06% to 27.22%. The BJP too witnessed a slight decrease in its vote share from 23.95% in 2022 to 22.54%. Though fourth, the SAD’s voteshare showed a slight improvement from 8.58% to 9.1%.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann took to X to congratulate Arora and the party workers. “Heartfelt congratulations to everyone on the resounding victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Ludhiana West assembly constituency byelection. The significant lead in the win reflects that the people of the state are satisfied with our government’s work. We are working tirelessly, without bias and with integrity, for the progress and prosperity of Punjab. We will prioritise fulfilling every promise made to the people of Punjab. Many congratulations to Sanjeev Arora ji. I also extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire leadership and volunteers who worked tirelessly for this victory,” he posted in Punjabi.
All eyes on RS seat Arora vacates
With the high-profile bypoll over, the political focus now shifts to the Rajya Sabha seat that Arora will vacate.
Opposition leaders claim that the bypoll was engineered to facilitate AAP national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s entry into Rajya Sabha, a presumption the AAP has denied so far. Nonetheless, Arora’s resignation from the Upper House will trigger a vacancy, giving the AAP window to manoeuvre.
Arora’s win comes in the backdrop of a low voter turnout on June 19. Only 51.33% voters exercised their franchise, the lowest since 2002, signaling disillusionment among people.
Celebrations in AAP since eighth round
On Monday, celebrations in the AAP camp began by the eighth round of counting, when Arora had already built a lead of over 3,500 votes over Congress nominee Ashu.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi in January. This was the first ever byelection for the assembly constituency since its inception in 1977. Of the 10 elections it has seen so far, the Congress has won six times, the SAD twice, and the AAP twice — 2022 and 2025.
Strategic push
The AAP had pulled out all stops while campaigning for the seat. The strategic push, led by Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, paid off. Arora, a Rajya Sabha member and industrialist, was declared candidate in February, giving him enough time for public outreach. His candidature was seen as a calculated move by the AAP to make him vacate his seat in the Upper House and make way for Kejriwal to enter Parliament after his electoral defeat in the Delhi assembly elections in February.
Sanjeev Arora’s elevation to Punjab cabinet minister is imminent, as announced by Kejriwal and Mann during the AAP campaign.
Congress campaign in disarray
The Congress, meanwhile, emerged a divided house. A visible rift between Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Raja Warring and candidate Ashu hurt the party’s campaign. Warring’s absence from key events, including Ashu’s roadshow, underlined internal divisions.
Ashu, a former minister who recently got a clean chit from the Punjab and Haryana high court in a corruption case, was unable to emulate his 2012 and 2017 victories. His party’s voter base in Ludhiana West seems to have eroded considerably.
BJP fails to capitalise on LS momentum
The BJP, buoyed by over 45,000 votes from this segment during last year’s Lok Sabha elections, fielded Jiwan Gupta, a lesser-known local face. Despite aggressive campaigning by Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Anurag Thakur, Delhi BJP chief Rekha Gupta, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini and Punjab BJP head Sunil Jakhar, the party failed to convert the Lok Sabha momentum into assembly success.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, who contested Ludhiana in the parliamentary polls and lost, also camped in the city during the bypoll. However, the BJP could not hold ground.
SAD’s slide continues
For the SAD, the bypoll result marked another low. Its candidate, Parupkar Ghumman, failed to better the 2022 performance when party veteran Maheshinder Singh Grewal secured just 10,072 votes. Despite protest rallies and campaign visits by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia, the party failed to resonate with Ludhiana’s urban ‘lectorate.
Low turnout, fading enthusiasm
The bypoll recorded a turnout of 51.33% — a fall from 64.29% in 2022, when Gogi had won, and far lower than the seat’s highest ever turnout of 69.66% in 2012. The disinterest was attributed to political fatigue and disenchantment besides the hot weather. Even in 2007, when participation was relatively low, the turnout was higher at 58.92%.
Ludhiana West’s lowest-ever voter participation was 27.36% during Punjab’s insurgency period in 1992.
