AAP names RS member Sanjeev Arora as Ludhiana West assembly bypoll candidate

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday named Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as its candidate for the Ludhiana West assembly byelection.

The announcement was made by AAP national general secretary Sandeep Pathak in a post on X.

The date for the bypoll has not been announced yet.

Arora, 63, a Ludhiana-based real estate developer, has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2022.

Reacting to his appointment, Arora said: “Humbled and grateful to the leadership @AamAadmiParty for reposing faith in me to contest the Ludhiana West byelections. As someone deeply connected to my hometown, I look forward to serving my people with dedication and sincerity.”

The Ludhiana West seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi on January 10. Gogi died at his home of a gunshot injury after his licensed weapon accidentally discharged.

Clearing way for Kejriwal in RS

The move to nominate Arora as the byelection candidate is being seen as a bid by the AAP to clear the way for party convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to enter the Rajya Sabha from Ludhiana after he was defeated in the recent Delhi assembly elections.

While Gogi’s family had sought the AAP ticket for the byelection, the party reportedly decided against it, particularly after his wife Sukhchain Kaur’s defeat in the recent municipal corporation elections.

The Congress is likely to field former state cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu as its candidate, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP are yet to finalise their nominees for the byelection.

Faced ED raids over land fraud

Arora is on the governing board of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, and is a member of the Apex Council of Punjab Cricket Association and Ved Mandir Trust, Daresi. He has also served two consecutive terms as the secretary of the local Sutlej Club.

Arora faced controversy after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a search operation at his residence and office at Chandigarh Road in Ludhiana on July 10, 2024, in connection with a land fraud case. His business associates were also targeted. There have been allegations that Arora transferred land to his company in “a deceitful manner”.

The ED had conducted raids at 17 places simultaneously in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Delhi and Gurugram, including premises linked to Arora.

The ED suspected that two companies, including Ritesh Properties and Industries Ltd linked to Arora and Royal Industries Limited, got land from the Punjab government during the Congress regime in the state to set up industrial units but they allegedly misused the land and violated the conditions set by the government, such as selling a few portions and also setting up different kinds of businesses to generate proceeds of the crime. Arora’s residence in Hampton Homes Colony is also said to be located on such land.