Nititn Jain
Ludhiana, April 1
Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, 54, of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demolished the Congress citadel and wrested control over the urban seat Ludhiana West in the recently concluded Assembly elections by defeating two-time Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who was the Food Minister in the previous government.
Gogi polled 40,443 votes, which accounted for 34.46 per cent of the total polled votes, to rout Ashu, who got 32,931 votes, constituting 28.06 per cent vote share, by a margin of 7,512 votes.
“People were fed up with the corrupt practices and arrogance of previous leaders. There will be no place for such a culture in the new regime,” Gogi said.
He had parted ways with Ashu after he was not considered for the post of Mayor in 2018. “I was forced to quit the Congress after serving for over 22 years when the party became an individual’s private limited company, where there was no say of loyalists like me,” said the firebrand new MLA, while vowing better education, health, civic amenities, permanent solution to traffic congestion and proper implementation of the Smart City project. Gogi was a three-time sitting municipal councillor from Ward 76 in Ludhiana West and former district urban president of the Congress party.
A graduate from Vinayak Missions University, Salem, in Tamil Nadu, Gogi was an aide of Ashu. He quit the Congress and joined the AAP in January, barely a month ahead of the February 20 polls.
Gogi, who is also a realtor and petroleum dealer, served as PSIEC Chairman during Capt Amarinder Singh’s regime. Gogi’s wife Sukhchain Kaur Bassi, a PhD, is a former municipal councillor.
No place for corruption, arrogance now: Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi
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