E-Paper
The rise and fall of Ludhiana’s ‘poster boy’ Bharat Bhushan Ashu
Even those in Ludhiana who have little interest or knowledge of politics recognise Bharat Bhushan Ashu as “the man with a long beard” who features on huge billboards and had worked towards making leisure valleys and bridges. But it was in 2017, on assuming charge as minister of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, that his political clout grew by leaps and bounds
From a councillor of the Ludhiana municipal corporation in 1997 to an MLA in 2012 and subsequently a minister in 2017, Bharat Bhushan Ashu political career saw a phenomenal rise until it all came crashing down.
Just seven months ago, when the state was to go to the polls in March this year, huge posters of the two-time Ludhiana West MLA Ashu dotted the entire city, earning him a name as the “poster boy” of Ludhiana. Even those in Ludhiana who have little interest or knowledge of politics recognise him easily as “the man with a long beard” who features on huge billboards and had worked towards making leisure valleys and bridges.
In 2015, Ashu was appointed deputy leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha during the SAD-BJP regime. But it was in 2017, on assuming charge as minister of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, that his political clout grew by leaps and bounds.
Belonging to a business family that owns dairy farms, Ashu became the face of Ludhiana after becoming a minister in the previous Congress government and was present in almost all state-level and local meetings even as he simultaneously began to face criticism for his “arrogance” and misconduct. He is also know to be close being to Rahul Gandhi.
LIT auction controversy
The ex-minister found himself in the midst of a controversy in September 2021 when the BJP and the SAD raised a hue and cry about auction of prime land belonging to the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT). The trust had auctioned off 3.79 acres (16,344 square yards) of prime land for around ₹98.38 crore, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) alleged that the land is worth approximately ₹350 crore.
The then local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra had to eventually cancel the auction owing to discrepancy in the statements issued by then LIT chairman Raman Balasubramaniam and the then deputy commissioner (DC) Varinder Sharma pertaining to the reserve price of the auctioned land. Mohindra had however made it a point to clarify, “The auction has not been cancelled due to allegations of scam.”
Misconduct allegations
In October 2019, Ashu was blamed for thrashing his own party’s volunteer during preparations for a byelection. The same year in January, he was publicly seen and captured by media while misbehaving with a female officer – then the district education officer -- at a public function.
CLU scam of 2019
In 2019, the change of land use (CLU) scam had rocked the Vidhan Sabha in which Ashu was accused of ‘patronising’ the construction of flats. It was alleged that CLU has been given to a private developer in violation of norms. Dismissed deputy superintendent of police, Balwinder Sekhon, who was contesting against Ashu as an independent candidate, accused him of the CLU scam pertaining to construction of flats on Gill Road.
During this episode, audio recordings of Ashu threatening the then DSP and superintending engineer of improvement trust also went viral.
Opposition parties, including AAP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party, accused Ashu of committing frauds worth thousands of crores during distribution and purchase of wheat grains, even during the pandemic.
Crushing defeat
In Punjab assembly polls this year, Ashu could not even secure votes equal to his previous margin. In 2017, Ashu had defeated his nearest rival AAP candidate Ahbab Grewal by a margin of 36,521 votes. This year in March, the total votes polled in Ashu’s favour did not even reach his previous margin as he secured 32,931 votes. BJP candidate, advocate Bikram Singh Sidhu secured the third position on the seat with 28,107 votes.
