India, June 23 -- In a high-stakes byelection closely watched as a bellwether for the Punjab assembly elections in 2027, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday retained the Ludhiana West seat with Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora emerging victorious after defeating former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress by a convincing margin of 10,637 votes.

Arora secured a clear lead from the initial rounds of counting and maintained it till the 14th and final round, polling 35,179 votes, while Ashu got 24,542 votes.

BJP's debutant candidate Jiwan Gupta finished third with 20,323 votes. Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Parupkar Singh Ghumman failed to make any impact with 8,203 votes, reflecting the SAD's continued decline in urban Punjab.

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