Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora’s troubles may increase in the coming days. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has begun hearing an election petition filed against him, alleging the minister used money power in the Ludhiana elections. The court issued notices to Sanjeev Arora and 13 candidates contesting against him. Of these, 11 candidates, including Sanjeev Arora, have appeared in court.
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for November 14th in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Among the prominent candidates, lawyers for Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Paropkar Singh Ghuman and Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu have already appeared in court. The BJP candidate has now received the court notice.
Four candidates received a summons
Four candidates, including BJP candidate Jeevan Gupta, received their notices, but their representatives have not yet appeared in court, while the notices of three independent candidates are still pending. On October 31st, the court heard the case and issued fresh notices to all three, directing them to appear on November 14th.
By-election held in June
The nomination process for the by-election in the Ludhiana West Assembly constituency began on June 2nd. Voting took place on June 19th. Counting took place on June 23rd, and the election results were declared thereafter.
Election Commission should also pay attention to the Tarn Taran election
Jaskirat Singh, a member of the Public Action Committee, appealed to the Election Commission that money power is being used in the Tarn Taran election as well. He urged the Election Commission to strictly enforce the rules.
What was the election petition?
Following the death of Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi, a by-election was held for this constituency in June. The Aam Aadmi Party nominated Sanjeev Arora as its candidate. Jaswinder Singh Malli, on behalf of the Public Action Committee, filed a petition in the High Court alleging that Sanjeev Arora won the election based on money power and therefore, the election should be annulled.