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Ludhiana: Despite campaign blitz, Akali Dal pick bites dust
Though SAD’s vote share saw a minor rise from 8.58% in 2022 to 9.1% this year, its total votes fell by nearly 2,000, as the overall turnout dropped from over 1.17 lakh votes in 2022 to 90,000 this time
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), once a strong political force in Ludhiana West, faced a major blow in the recent by-election as its candidate Parupkar Singh Ghuman could manage to pull only 8,203 votes, securing a mere 9.1% of the vote share and losing his security deposit.
The constituency, historically significant for SAD, was earlier won by the party during its alliance with the BJP. In 2007, SAD’s Harish Rai Dhanda had won from the seat and was later appointed chief parliamentary secretary. Later, senior Akali leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal, a former cabinet minister, also contested from here. Back then, the SAD-BJP combine enjoyed considerable support in Ludhiana’s urban belt.
This time, however, the picture was starkly different. A total of 90,160 votes were cast in the bypoll, of which AAP’s candidate Sanjeev Arora secured 35,179 votes (39.02%), followed by Congress’s Bharat Bhushan Ashu with 24,542 votes (27.22%), and BJP’s Rajinder Bittu Gupta who polled 20,303 votes (22.54%). SAD’s Ghuman stood fourth with only 8203 votes (9.1%).
Though SAD’s vote share saw a minor rise from 8.58% in 2022 to 9.1% this year, its total votes fell by nearly 2,000, as the overall turnout dropped from over 1.17 lakh votes in 2022 to 90,000 this time. In 2022, Grewal had secured around 10,032 votes, showing that despite a full-fledged campaign, SAD’s hold continued to slip.
Party president Sukhbir Singh Badal personally led the campaign, staying in the constituency for over 20 days and conducting door-to-door visits, padyatras, and meetings. However, these efforts did not reflect in the poll results.
“This is concerning. We had hoped to rebuild our support base here, but the response was disappointing,” said a senior SAD leader, requesting anonymity.
Ghuman, defending the results, stated: “Our vote percent has been increased from last assembly election as during that time vote has been polled 1,17,000 and now around 90,000 votes have been polled so in that case our votes percentage has been increased. But AAP misused state machinery, distributed materialistic benefits, and even got fake FIRs registered during campaigning days.”
Senior Akali leader and MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, while speaking on the outcome, expressed internal concerns, saying, “There has been consistent dissent from Sikh voters. According to my survey, around 29% of Ludhiana West’s voters are Sikhs, but SAD’s central leadership is not addressing the issues affecting them. I have raised this before, but the leadership remains disconnected.”
Observers point out that SAD’s traditional methods are failing to connect with today’s urban and young voters. While the party has roots in rural and religious politics, Ludhiana’s fast-changing urban demographic demands modern outreach and clarity on local issues.
