BJP President Sunil Jakhar has alleged that senior party leaders colluded with AAP in the Ludhiana by-election, leading to Bharat Bhushan Ashu's defeat.
Punjab Politics: Following the results of the Ludhiana West by-election in Punjab, a new controversy has erupted in the state's politics. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Sanjeev Arora won the seat, defeating Congress's Bharat Bhushan Ashu by over 10,000 votes. After the electoral defeat, voices are being raised from within the Congress, and the opposition party BJP has also launched a scathing attack on the Congress regarding this issue.
Sunil Jakhar Targets Congress
Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar has claimed that the defeat of the Congress is due to the collusion of some senior leaders of the party. He alleged that a senior Congress leader had made a deal with the Aam Aadmi Party and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure Bharat Bhushan Ashu's defeat. Jakhar also said that this defeat for the Congress was the result of betrayal and deal-making, and not just the decision of the people.
Jakhar retaliated against Amrinder Singh Raja Warring's statement. Warring had said that there was a secret agreement between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party to defeat the Congress. In response, Jakhar said that Congress leaders were now making false allegations against the BJP to hide their failures.
Targets Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as well
BJP leader Sunil Jakhar also targeted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said that no action had been taken on the corruption cases he had mentioned in the assembly. He claimed that this was a clear indication that the government had not taken the corruption cases seriously, and that there could be some kind of internal deal behind it as well.
He said, "Everyone knows who I am talking about. Has any strict action been taken on the corruption cases in the transport department that the Chief Minister had mentioned?"
Congress MLA Khaira also raises questions
Congress MLA from Bholath, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, also spoke out against his own party. He said that some senior Congress leaders had made secret agreements with the Aam Aadmi Party, and that there could be personal industrial benefits behind it. Khaira wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the party should seriously introspect the reasons for this defeat.
He also said that the party is repeatedly making the same leaders in charge of by-elections who had previously failed to win the party victories. Khaira questioned whether any leader had worked in favor of the AAP candidate for their personal or business benefits.
Internal discord in Congress increases
After the by-election results, the discord and discontent within the Congress have started to come out in the open. While the BJP is attacking the Congress on one hand, on the other hand, serious questions are being raised from within the Congress about betrayal and organizational failure. The defeat in an urban seat like Ludhiana West has come as a shock to the party, and this defeat is not just an electoral defeat, but also indicates the strategic weakness and internal divisions of the Congress.
AAP benefits
The Aam Aadmi Party has achieved a big victory in this by-election. This victory of Sanjeev Arora not only brings a change in the local politics of Ludhiana, but also indicates to the AAP that their hold is strengthening in the state. Being the ruling party in Punjab, AAP had put all its strength on this seat and the result went in their favor.
