High Stakes and High Hopes: BJP's Jiwan Gupta Begins Vote Counting Day with Prayers

As the vote counting for the assembly bypolls commenced, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Jiwan Gupta from Ludhiana West sought divine blessings at Durga Mata Mandir in Ludhiana. "I begin all my work with blessings from God," Gupta told ANI, underscoring his commitment to spiritual guidance amid electoral processes.

The by-elections spanned five constituencies across four Indian states – Gujarat, Kerala, West Bengal, and Punjab. The polls took place on Tuesday, June 19, marking electoral activities in Kadi (SC) and Visavadar in Gujarat, Nilambur in Kerala, Ludhiana West in Punjab, and Kaliganj in West Bengal. Notably, Kerala's Nilambur reported the highest voter turnout at 73.26%, while the lowest was in Ludhiana West at 51.33%.

In Ludhiana, the assembly seat fell vacant following AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi's death. AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, Congress's former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and Shiromani Akali Dal's Parupkar Singh Ghumman are in the fray. Security at Ludhiana's Khalsa College for Women, where vote counting began at 8 am, has been beefed up, with Superintendent DK Chaudhary informing ANI of the deployment of around 450 police officers.

(With inputs from agencies.)