‘Gussa, ahankaar’: Sparks fly in Ludhiana West fray amid AAP, Cong war of slogans

Flanked by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi CM Atishi, Arora filed his nomination last Friday. “I had three more years in the Rajya Sabha but I have taken up this responsibility as I was already working for Ludhiana’s development,” he said.

Claiming that the AAP never named Ashu in its slogans, Arora told The Indian Express, “My slogans will prick only those who are guilty. I am only trying to tell people that I am calm and government officials need to be respected. No one can threaten them.” Arora was apparently referring to videos purportedly showing Ashu’s outbursts against government officials during his term as Ludhiana West MLA between 2012 and 2022.

Kejriwal, too, referred to Ashu’s “anger and arrogance” at a recent roadshow. “Last time in 2022, you had voted against gussa and ahankaar of your then MLA and elected our (Gurpreet) Gogi ji… If you want a sewadar who works for you, then vote for Arora… The slogan (na gussa, na ahankaar) is excellent,” he said.

The upcoming bypoll, necessitated after sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi “accidentally” shot himself to death in January, has turned into a prestige battle for the AAP as it comes close on the heels of its drubbing in the February Delhi Assembly polls, where party bigwigs including Kejriwal and former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia were also defeated by the BJP candidates. The principal Opposition Congress is also going all out to wrest the seat from the AAP.

In the Ludhiana West seat, the AAP was the first party off the blocks as it quickly announced Arora as its candidate, triggering the Opposition’s accusation that Kejriwal was eyeing a Rajya Sabha berth “at MP Arora’s expense”.

The AAP has performed poorly in some other recent polls in the belt too. Last year, in the Lok Sabha polls, the AAP did not secure a lead in any of the nine Assembly segments falling under the Ludhiana parliamentary seat, which was won by the Congress’s Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, the party’s state unit president. Months later, the AAP also failed to secure a majority in the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation polls.

Congress retort

Hitting back, Ashu has taken on the AAP with a slogan of his own — “For development and trust, Ashu is a must”. He had been jailed for 11 months in 2022 in connection with an alleged foodgrain scam before the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the case against him.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ashu alleged that there was “no accountability” of what the AAP government has done in the state in the past three years.

“Earlier, they (AAP) called me corrupt and dishonest. Now, as the High Court has quashed false cases, they can’t call me dishonest even in their dreams. Hence, they have come up with the gussa and ahankaar pitch,” Ashu said, adding that the “winds of change to oust the AAP from power in Punjab will start from Ludhiana”.

SAD candidate poster which reads: “Na baahri, na ahankaari, iss vaar Parupkar di vaari.”

Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which is grappling with an internal leadership crisis, has fielded advocate Parupkar Singh Ghumman for the bypoll. The Sukhbir Badal-led SAD has also joined the “anger and arrogance” debate with its own slogan – “Na baahari, na ahankaari… iss vaar Parupkar di vaari (Neither an outsider, nor an arrogant one, this time it’s Parupkar’s turn)”.

Claiming that both Ashu and Arora are “arrogant”, Ghumman said, “While Arora is an outsider, Ashu did nothing for the constituency despite being a minister.”

The BJP, which is looking to gather momentum after a good showing in the Ludhiana civic body polls, has named former party general secretary Jiwan Gupta as its candidate.