Ludhiana West bypoll result: Vote counting begins; 14 candidates in fray

NEW DELHI: Voting counting for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll in Punjab commenced Monday at 8 am, following the June 19 election that was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January.

The election saw 14 candidates competing, with a voter turnout of 51.33 percent.The counting process, which will consist of 14 rounds, is taking place at Khalsa College for Women under strict security arrangements.The voter participation marked a significant decline from the 64 percent turnout recorded in the 2022 Assembly polls.The main political parties contesting the bypoll were the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal.The Aam Aadmi Party nominated Sanjeev Arora, a 61-year-old Rajya Sabha member and Ludhiana-based industrialist known for his social welfare activities.The Congress party fielded former minister and Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu, 51, as their candidate.The BJP's candidate was senior leader Jiwan Gupta, a member of the party's Punjab unit core committee.The Shiromani Akali Dal chose Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer and former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association, as their representative.Officials have implemented comprehensive security measures at the counting center at Khalsa College for Women to ensure a smooth counting process.