Overview

• The Ludhiana West bypoll is set for June 19 with counting on June 23 after the seat fell vacant following AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi’s January death.
• Arvind Kejriwal pledged that industrialist and Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora will become a Punjab cabinet minister if he wins the bypoll to empower constituency development.
• Congress nominee Bharat Bhushan Ashu alleged that Delhi-based AAP leaders treat Punjabi workers as "second-class citizens" and challenged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to a public debate on corruption.
• AAP state president Aman Arora and other leaders rejected the claims by accusing Congress of historically sidelining ordinary Punjabis and denying fabricating corruption charges.
• Observers say the outcome will test AAP’s governance in Punjab and could influence both its 2027 assembly strategy and Kejriwal’s prospects for a Rajya Sabha seat.