Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu seeks comeback in crucial Ludhiana West byelection. | Ludhiana News

Ludhiana: All eyes are on Monday’s byelection result in Ludhiana West, a contest set to shape Punjab’s political trajectory ahead of the 2027 assembly polls and revive the fortunes of embattled Congress candidate, Bharat Bhushan Ashu.Once the poster boy of the Congress in Ludhiana, Ashu is vying to reclaim relevance after a corruption scandal saw him jailed and later exonerated by the Punjab and Haryana high court. The court quashed all cases against him, calling those an attempt to “harass” the politician.Ashu, working president of the Punjab Congress Committee currently, hopes to recapture the seat he won in 2012 and 2017. Traditionally, Ludhiana West has favoured the Congress, which has won it six times — more than any other party. The SAD-BJP alliance has won twice, while the Janata Party and AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) have claimed it once each.A seasoned politician, Ashu began his career in 1997 as an independent municipal councillor. He joined the Congress in 2002 and rose through the ranks steadily, forging ties with Gandhi family aide Kishori Lal Sharma. He made his legislative debut in 2012, defeating the BJP’s Rajinder Bhandari by more than 35,000 votes, and repeated his success in 2017 against AAP’s Ahbaab Singh Grewal.His fortunes changed in 2022 amid a sweeping AAP victory in Punjab, when he lost to Gurpreet Bassi Gogi — a former Congress ally — by about 8,000 votes. Months later, Ashu was arrested over alleged irregularities in food grain transportation tenders. His eventual legal vindication has now set the stage for a critical comeback bid. As Punjab’s political leadership watches closely, Monday’s result will test both Ashu’s personal redemption arc and the Congress’s ability to reassert itself in a state reshaped by AAP’s rise.BoxLudh West MLAs Since 1977>> 1977 | A Viswanathan (Janata Party)>> 1980, 1985, 1992, 2002 | Harnam Dass Johar (Cong)>> 1997 | Maheshinder Singh Grewal (SAD-BJP)>> 2007 | Harish Rai Dhanda (SAD-BJP)>> 2012, 2017 | Bharat Bhushan Ashu (Congress)>> 2022 | Gurpreet Bassi Gogi (AAP)boxParty Wins in Ludhiana West>> Cong | 6>> SAD-BJP | 2>> Janata Party | 1>> AAP | 1 MSID:: 122006126 413 |