The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made a remarkable victory in the by-election constituency of Ludhiana West, and this gave rise to speculations of discord within the Punjab Congress party. This was fueled further when a controversial social media posting supposedly made by the Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring appeared to go viral on the very night that the AAP won in consultation with the Lt. Governor.
The post, which is an image containing a symbol of victory, was said to be then uploaded and deleted shortly after creating a stir among party quarters. The timing of the post led to speculations of infighting in the Congress camp, more so as the reactions of senior leaders in the Congress were seen to come out.
Displeasure of Bharat Bhushan Ashu
One of the Congress candidates who lost at the polls, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, reacted to this viral post by saying:
“When one of our leaders goes on posting a victory sign after we have been beaten, that is a narrow-minded thought. The outcome of the elections indicates that we were not going to make the competition one-sided. We battled with the power regime all we could. The reasons for the loss exist, and they are worth analyzing.”
Ashu underlined the margin and affirmed that Congress campaigned hard and that it has not been an easy task for AAP with power out of its hands.
Answer by Rana Gurjit Singh
On the controversy, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh said, “I haven’t seen any such post—it seems incorrect. Our workers gave their all. We accept the election results gracefully. People appreciated Ashu, which is why he received a considerable number of votes. Voters have now elected AAP’s Sanjeev Arora.”
Singh further said that such things as the installation of campaign boards in the constituency, even though it was purely symbolic in nature, spread awareness and kept people on alert.
He also urged the AAP-led government to concentrate on addressing some of the main issues, such as:
- Getting rid of drug addiction
- Curbing corruption
- Abolition of extortion-type activities in the state
He thanked everyone, even the ones who have not been on our side, to which he stated that every election is a learning process.
With regard to the supposed viral post, Singh repeated, “I’ve not seen such a post. If it existed, it’s unfortunate—but not reflective of the party’s collective stance.”