Ludhiana Municipal Elections: 447 Candidates, 216 Withdrawn, 1,223 Polling Stations Set for a High-Stakes Showdown!
Ludhiana (The Uttam Hindu): Due to errors in their nomination papers, a total of 19 candidates have been disqualified. Among them are five candidates from the major party, BJP. The candidates whose nominations have been cancelled include Ravi Chaurasia from Ward 5, Raman Kumar Hira from Ward 32, Harpreet Kaur from Ward 45, Namita Malhotra from Ward 83, and Deepika Disawar from Ward 85. These candidates are now out of the election race.
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation elections are scheduled for December 21, with the results expected to be announced later in the evening. Currently, 447 candidates are contesting, while 216 candidates have withdrawn their nominations. The district administration released the final list late at night. A total of 1,223 polling stations have been set up across the city, with 11,61,689 registered voters. Among them, 6,22,150 are male voters, 5,39,436 are female voters, and 103 are transgender voters.
19 Candidates’ Nominations Cancelled
As mentioned, the nominations of 19 candidates were cancelled due to errors in their nomination papers. Five of the disqualified candidates are from BJP. These include Ravi Chaurasia (Ward 5), Raman Kumar Hira (Ward 32), Harpreet Kaur (Ward 45), Namita Malhotra (Ward 83), and Deepika Disawar (Ward 85). They are no longer eligible to contest.
District President Dhiman Accuses AAP of Fear of Defeat
BJP District President Rajneesh Dhiman has accused the AAP government of being anxious about its defeat and not wanting to hold impartial elections. He claimed that the government, fearing defeat, had cancelled the nominations of BJP candidates.
BJP Supports Independent Candidate
BJP extended support to Davinder Jaggi, a former BJP councillor who is contesting as an independent candidate from Ward 83. Jaggi had rebelled against BJP and is now standing as a candidate from the same ward.
9 Key Wards Under Focus
Nine wards in the city are critical, as their results will determine the fate of prominent leaders. If these leaders fail to retain their wards, their political future could be in jeopardy.
Political Careers at Stake for Key Candidates
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has placed its trust in Jaspal Singh Giaspura, son of former mayor Hakim Singh Giaspura, for Ward 34. Hakim Singh Giaspura has served as a councillor five times, and Jaspal Singh has been a councillor twice.
SAD has also fielded Rakhvinder Singh Gabdia from Ward 48. Rakhvinder, the son of senior Akali leader and former jail minister Heera Singh Gabdia, has been a councillor twice.
Rakhvinder will face competition from BJP’s Kripal Singh KP Rana, Congress’ Sukhwinder, and AAP’s Pradeep Kumar.
Yuvraj Singh Sidhu to Contest from Ward 50
Yuvraj Singh Sidhu, son of AAP MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu, is contesting from Ward 50. BJP has given a ticket to Rakesh Chand Parashar, SAD has fielded Jaswinder Singh Raja, and Congress has announced Parik Sharma as its candidate.
