Pressing local issues lost amid political rhetoric, mudslinging

With less than a week left to elect the new MLA from Ludhiana West Assembly constituency, which will see the bypoll on June 19, the local issues concerning the public at large seem to have been lost in the political rhetoric and mudslinging between the ruling and opposition parties.

Instead of listing out their action plan to resolve the main public issues, the senior leaders of almost all the parties are busy spewing venom on each other.

“Be it the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, CM Bhagwnat Mann, former CM Charanjit Channi, Kapurthala Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet, SAD president Sukhbir Badal or the BJP state head Sunil Jakhar, all the leaders seem more focused on hitting below the belt of their political opponents,” said Dr SS Johl, former chancellor of Central University of Punjab.

He said the parties know that the bypoll results will be a referendum not only for the ruling AAP, but also for the Congress and the BJP ahead of the general assembly election scheduled for early 2027.

“The real issues in the constituency have not been discussed by anyone so far,” he quipped.

The major issues concerning the common man in the Assembly constituency, which is a purely urban segment in the heart of the city, included deteriorating law and order situation, waterlogging during rainy season, stray dog menace, providing proprietary rights to the residents of Jawahar Nagar Camp Colony, cleaning of Buddha Nullah, completion of city centre, proper functioning of the district transport office and last but not least poor basic civic amenities for which the voters are seeking time-bound and permanent action plan, said Nankana Sahib Public School principal Harmeet Kaur Waraich.

The Ludhiana West bypoll was necessitated following the death of the sitting Aam Aadmi Party legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. About 1.75-lalh voters will decide the fate of the candidates on Thursday.

Punjab