"Won with money, muscle power": Punjab Congress Chief as AAP sweeps Ludhiana West assembly bypoll

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 23 (ANI): After AAP's sweeping victory in the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll on Monday, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring dismissed the result and said that the ruling party secured the win through money and muscle power.
The State Congress Chief said that the party workers left no stone unturned, but would have to review the defeat in the by-elections.
Speaking to ANI, Warring said, "Such results keep coming, bypolls happen, they have won elections with money and muscle power. Our workers did a lot of work and left no stone unturned, but we need to review this, which we will do in the coming days."
"In 2027, we will tell what the final and semi-final are. Aam Aadmi Party people know how they won, we don't need to tell them... BJP has lost on the basis of morality... Today, the people of Punjab have put a stamp on the fact that the BJP is not acceptable in Punjab," he added.
After facing setbacks in Lok Sabha and Delhi state polls, AAP bagged two out of five seats in the Assembly bypolls of Gujarat and Punjab.
AAP's Sanjeev Arora won the Ludhiana West (Punjab) Assembly by-election by a margin of 10,637 votes, garnering 35,179 votes in total.
AAP candidate Gopal Italia won the Visavadar (Gujarat) Assembly by-election by a margin of 17,554 votes, garnering 75,942 votes in total.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday congratulated the people of Gujarat and Punjab after his party's spectacular performance in the bypolls in Visavadar and Ludhiana West and said that people rejected Congress and BJP in both the constituencies.
In a post on X, Kejriwal stated that the people of Punjab are very happy with the work of our government, and they have voted more than in 2022.
He further stated that the people of Gujarat are now fed up with the BJP and see hope in the Aam Aadmi Party.
"Both parties, Congress and the BJP, contested the elections together in both places. Both of them had the same objective - to defeat AAP. But people rejected both these parties in both places," the AAP further added.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party on its spectacular victory in the assembly constituency of Ludhiana West by-election and said that the party's huge lead in the polls is a clear indication that the people of the state are very happy with the government's work.
Counting for the assembly by-elections held in five constituencies in four states - Gujarat, Kerala, West Bengal, and Punjab - began on Monday at 8 am.
Two assembly bypolls were held in Gujarat, one each in Kerala, West Bengal, and Punjab, on Tuesday (June 19).
Polling took place at the Assembly constituencies of Kadi (SC) and Visavadar in Gujarat, Nilambur in Kerala, Ludhiana West in Punjab and Kaliganj in West Bengal. (ANI)