Bharat Bhushan Ashu Resigns After Bypoll Defeat in Ludhiana West

In a surprising turn of events, Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu stepped down from his post on Monday. Ashu's resignation follows his defeat in the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll, where AAP's candidate, Sanjeev Arora, retained the seat with a noteworthy margin.

According to the Election Commission's data released Monday, Arora secured 35,179 votes, defeating Ashu, who managed 24,542 votes, by a margin of 10,637. This defeat spells a setback for the Congress, which had previously dominated this constituency six times.

The by-election was held due to the unfortunate demise of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi earlier in January. Despite BJP and SAD candidates trailing Ashu with 20,323 and 8,203 votes respectively, the result underscores the Congress's struggle to reclaim its urban stronghold.

(With inputs from agencies.)