Ludhiana (W) Bypoll: Day after polling, candidates unwind with family, friends

After weeks of hectic campaigning and voting on June 19 for the Ludhiana (West) Assembly bypoll, today was relatively a “relaxed” day for candidates of all parties.

Unlike early morning meetings with workers to devise day-to-day strategy to reach out to maximum voters in the segment, leaders were seen spending time with their family members and friends.

AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora said, “I allowed myself a rare indulgence. I slept longer than usual and started the day slow. Upon waking up, I requested my team and the Municipal Corporation staff to begin the process of removing all campaign-related material, including posters, and stickers from the segment.” He said he spent quality time with his family, which he deeply missed during the campaigning.

“Today, I gave maximum time to my grandchildren — Aria, Anhad and Ivaan. It was a heartfelt reminder of how much time I had been away. We shared lunch together as a family and I’m looking forward to taking them all out for dinner to their favourite restaurant. I plan to continue spending the next two days in the company of my loved ones, something that had taken a backseat due to the election schedule,” said Arora. He added that this pause was important not just to rest but to reflect, recharge and reconnect before moving forward with renewed energy.

Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu said, “Everybody needs a day to rest. It is indeed refreshing and rejuvenating for everyone — my family, supporters and workers. They all had put in so much efforts for this bypoll.”

He added, “No politics for the day. Practically an apolitical day amid the sound and fury of politics.” He said he was thankful to the Election Commission that scheduled the counting in a way that we get a reasonable break of a few days.

Jiwan Gupta of the BJP took upon himself to prepare morning tea for his family members who stood by him like a rock during intense campaigning. “I prepared the morning tea and made sure that all family members sit together. The little ones sat in my lap and we shared lighter moments,” said Gupta.

He said party workers and supporters kept reaching out to him throughout the day. He added that he also analysed the performance of party with workers. “After hectic campaigning, it was the day to relax for a few hours. The meals were taken in a peaceful manner in the company of my loved ones,” said Gupta.

SAD candidate Paropkar Singh Ghuman started the day with morning prayers and shared light moments with his family.

Later, he held meetings with party workers, gathering reports from all wards to assess voter turnout and feedback. “As votes will be counted on June 23, we are calm and focused. I am thankful to party president Sukhbir Singh Badal for showing his trust in me,” he said.

“All family members shared light moments. It was a time to unwind and gear up for more responsibilities. I spent much of the time with my family members and then a few hours were dedicated to party workers and supporters,” said Ghuman.

However, all leaders were anxiously waiting for June 23, when the counting would take place and one among them would get the voters’ nod to usher in development of the Ludhiana (West) segment.