Ludhiana (Punjab) [India], June 8 : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday addressed the public and urged voters to cast their franchise in the Ludhiana West bypolls
"It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to cast a vote," the Punjab CM said. "Please take out at least 10 to 15 minutes for Punjab."
Mann said if the state gets an MLA from a party other than the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the MLA "won't do anything but criticise" the AAP.
"What will they do after becoming an MLA? It's our government, what will they do? They'll only criticise (the present state government) ...," the chief minister said. He added, "Vote for a good candidate, somebody who understands your problems."
Mann said the state government is working to improve sports facilities so that the youth stay away from drugs. He further added that grounds across all villages in Punjab are being improved and that refinement is also underway at government schools.
"I want Punjab to flourish across all sectors: agriculture, sports, business... Every individual must get respect," the chief minister said.
The by-election in Punjab will be held for the Ludhiana West Assembly constituency. It was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi. The voting will be held on Thursday, June 19, 2025, with the counting of votes scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2025.
Prominent leaders contesting bypolls in Ludhiana West are: Sanjeev Arora from AAP, Bharat Bhushan Ashu from Congress; Parupkar Singh Ghuman from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Jiwan Gupta from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
In addition to Punjab, June 19 bypolls have been scheduled for 2 constituencies in Gujarat, 1 constituency in Kerala, and 1 constituency in West Bengal.
"The Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in the bye-election in all the polling stations. Adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been made available and all steps have been taken to ensure that the poll is conducted smoothly with the help of these machines", a press release dated May 25 stated.