Ludhiana, June 23 -- The votes cast in the crucial Ludhiana West bypoll will be counted on Monday at the Khalsa College for Women, Ghumar Mandi, with the process beginning at 8 am. The counting will take place in 14 rounds, with additional tables set up for postal ballots and ETPBS votes. The seat had fallen vacant after the tragic death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi earlier this year.

Despite a lengthy and high-decibel campaign that began as early as March, well before the official announcement of the bypoll, only 51.33% of voters came out to cast their vote on June 19. Out of 1.74 lakh registered voters in this urban constituency of Ludhiana city and its adjoining areas, just around 90,000 exercised their franchise. This unusually low...