Victory in the Ludhiana (West) Assembly seat, which has become a matter of prestige for AAP, is a litmus test for the party ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Additionally, the win of the AAP candidate on this seat is being linked to Kejriwal’s possible entry into the Rajya Sabha.

Written by ANURADHA MIGLANI/ The Newsdose.com

Chandigarh, June 19

Today, 49% of the polling for the Ludhiana West seat was completed by 5 pm, while polling was in full swing. On Wednesday, a clash occurred between Punjab police and Congress workers in the presence of Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Tensions flared in the Jawahar Nagar camp area after Punjab Police allegedly detained a Congress worker who reported illegal ration distribution by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The incident unfolded when Congress workers intercepted an Activa scooter carrying ration kits reportedly meant to influence voters. According to eyewitnesses, the rider fled the scene after being confronted, leaving the ration-laden vehicle behind. Congress workers immediately complained to the Election Commission and local police, accusing AAP of violating the Model Code of Conduct.

However, the situation escalated when police detained Lakhan Bhagat, the Congress worker who raised the complaint. This move triggered sharp criticism from Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who rushed to the spot and accused the Punjab Police of acting as “polling agents” for the AAP.

“Punjab Police has made the broom makers wear their uniforms and conscience,” Ashu said, alleging that the police have become complicit in election malpractice.

Ashu further charged that the state police have surrendered their impartiality and are serving the political interests of the ruling party. Following his protest, the police released Lakhan Bhagat without filing any charges.

Speaking to the media, Ashu declared, “The government has lost its nerve. Police brutality is at its peak. The Congress party will fight back within the law and will not tolerate this intimidation.”

The incident has added to the already heated political atmosphere ahead of the poll, with opposition parties accusing the ruling AAP of electoral misconduct and abuse of state machinery.

For the Ludhiana (West) Assembly seat, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, along with opposition parties such as the Congress, the BJP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal, has put in its full force. From AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, former Delhi Minister Atishi, Manish Sisodia, and other top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are camping in Ludhiana day and night to ensure victory in this by-election.

Victory in the Ludhiana (West) Assembly seat, which has become a matter of prestige for AAP, is a litmus test for the party ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Additionally, the win of the AAP candidate on this seat is being linked to Kejriwal’s possible entry into the Rajya Sabha. Following the sudden death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi, this seat fell vacant, and now Rajya Sabha MP and Ludhiana-based industrialist Sanjeev Arora is in the fray. Arora is up against former Congress cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, BJP state general secretary Jeevan Gupta, and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Puskar Singh Ghuman – all of whom have been rigorously campaigning for the past three months.

Following the loss of Delhi in the February Assembly polls, Kejriwal has shifted his focus to Punjab since March to ensure that the state does not slip out of his hands in 2027. Manish Sisodia has been appointed as in-charge. On May 31, a major organisational reshuffle saw five AAP MLAs appointed as vice-presidents, with new in-charges for all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies and 23 districts, along with four new general secretaries and seven secretaries. In this effort to energise the party, AAP has also made significant inroads into the Shiromani Akali Dal. Sukhwinder Sukhi, an SAD MLA from Banga who joined the AAP last year, has been appointed in-charge of the entire Doaba region.

With CM Bhagwant Mann sidelined, Kejriwal is now actively on the ground himself, giving on-the-spot instructions to the government machinery to fulfil all small and big promises and guarantees that the Mann government could not deliver over the past three years. On the issue of drugs, Kejriwal’s claim to make Punjab drug-free by May 31 may be far from ground reality, but AAP is attempting to capitalise on this campaign during the Ludhiana by-election.

Terming the May 31 drug-free Punjab claim as “much ado but nothing,” Punjab Congress state president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring told TheNewsDose.com, “The ‘three-month war against drugs’ turned out to be a mere publicity stunt. The government spent public tax money like water on this campaign, but it yielded zero results. How can mere publicity make Punjab a drug-free state? The propaganda was so overwhelming that Kejriwal’s posters flooded the streets, bus stands, and airports of Punjab as if he were the next CM candidate.”

BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said, “The AAP government, which fixed May 31 as the deadline to make Punjab drug-free, has not yet officially declared whether Punjab is drug-free or not. The government, which is focused only on sloganeering, is now hiding from reality.”

Police DGP Gaurav Yadav, who had claimed drug eradication by May 31, has himself backtracked, admitting: “There is no doubt that the three-month-long anti-drug campaign significantly reduced the supply of drugs in Punjab, but some areas still have access to drugs. However, the perception that drugs are easily available everywhere in Punjab has now completely changed. In the past three months, the police registered 8,344 FIRs, arrested 13,038 drug traffickers, and made major seizures, including 586 kg of heroin and 247 kg of opium, along with confiscation of nearly ₹11 crore from 48 hawala operators involved in the drug trade.”

Apart from the drug-free Punjab campaign, the AAP government has also acted on its promise to tackle corruption by recently launching the ‘Easy Registry’ initiative from Mohali. It is believed that Tehsil offices handling property registration are hotbeds of corruption. The AAP claims that Punjab has become the first state in the country to make property registration fully digital, thereby making the process simpler and eliminating corruption.

In industrial hubs such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Mandi Gobindgarh, and Mohali, PSIEC has launched a campaign to allot vacant industrial plots on easy terms and concessional rates to attract business support towards the AAP.

Two years ago, initiatives such as Mohalla Clinics, Schools of Eminence, free electricity, and free travel for women in government buses — Delhi model schemes replicated in Punjab, along with claims of providing 43,000 government jobs, failed to yield favourable results for the AAP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. AAP won only 3 out of 13 seats, while the main opposition Congress secured seven seats. Meanwhile, the election of Khalistan sympathiser and ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh as an Independent MP from Khadoor Sahib — despite being lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail — and his associate Sarvjeet Singh Khalsa’s win from Muktsar, signals a resurgence of extremism in Punjab even under the AAP government, indicating a shift in political equations for 2027.

With a debt burden of ₹3.5 lakh crore, fulfilling all electoral promises in the next 21 months remains a significant challenge for the AAP government. During the 2022 Assembly polls, the AAP collected affidavits promising a ₹1,000 monthly allowance to women, which was later raised to ₹1,100 in the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign. But fulfilling this promise for half the state’s population will cost over ₹3,000 crore annually.

Due to Punjab’s fragile financial condition, fulfilling populist promises ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls is a challenging task, as even paying salaries and pensions on time is a struggle. In 2022, AAP targeted the sand mafia, claiming it would generate ₹20,000 crore annually in revenue from sand mining. However, in the last two financial years, only ₹527 crore could be collected from sand mining.

To improve Punjab’s finances, PUDA is actively auctioning land. In cities like Mohali, adjacent to Chandigarh, even green belt lands reserved for public parks are now being auctioned.

Despite the shock of the Delhi Assembly defeat, the Aam Aadmi Party has become more aggressive in its bid for a second term in Punjab. However, the growth of drug, sand, and liquor mafias under the protection of some AAP MLAs raises questions on the “honest government” narrative. In the name of fighting corruption, the vigilance bureau has not only arrested AAP MLA Raman Arora from Jalandhar but also cracked down on over half a dozen ministers of the previous Congress government, two of its cabinet ministers, and about six MLAs.

Meanwhile, farmers have also distanced themselves from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The ongoing agitation for a legal guarantee on MSP remains a big challenge. Unemployment is above 8%, fueling youth resentment. Government schemes, such as job fairs and startup promotions, are failing to yield results on the ground. Political analysts believe: “The aggressive push by Aam Aadmi Party two years before the elections is nothing more than a desperate attempt to retain power. Riding the wave of anti-establishment sentiment in 2022, AAP pulled off an unexpected win — but it has utterly failed to deliver any transformative change in Punjab.”