BJP questions AAP's Ludhiana West candidate Sanjeev Arora for taking credit of central government projects.
Ludhiana: The Bharatiya Janata Party (
BJP
) has accused Rajya Sabha MP and Aam Aadmi Party's Ludhiana West assembly byelection candidate Sanjeev Arora of misleading voters by claiming credit for this city's centrally funded development projects, dubbing him "Ludhiana Ka Kejriwal" in a pointed comparison to
AAP
's national convener and Delhi's former chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal
.
Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin led the charge during a press conference on Wednesday, challenging Arora to list publicly any infrastructure or development projects secured from the Punjab govt during his three-year term in the Rajya Sabha. "Sanjeev Arora was a member of Parliament for three years before being named AAP's candidate for the
Ludhiana West byelection
. But can he name even one project that was sanctioned by the state govt through his efforts?" Sarin said.
He argued that several key developments Arora had taken credit for — including the Halwara airport, the Ludhiana railway station revamp, elevated roads, and bridges over the Sidhwan Canal — are all initiatives either fully funded or executed by the central govt. Sarin claimed that the Halwara airport was planned under the Prime Minister's Udan scheme well before Arora's term had begun. "The state govt has no role in these projects," Sarin said. "Yet Arora continues to mislead voters, much like Kejriwal in Delhi and chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Punjab — all publicity, no delivery." Sarin warned Arora that he could face the same electoral backlash as Kejriwal, whose party had suffered defeats in Delhi's municipal elections recently. "Voters know when they are being taken for a ride," he added.
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The BJP leader also alleged that the AAP candidate had claimed credit falsely for a new Employees' State Insurance (ESI) medical college in Ludhiana. "The central govt had approved 10 ESI medical colleges, and through persistent efforts, Punjab BJP had secured one for Ludhiana," Sarin claimed. He criticised AAP for circulating a recent four-page advertisement in the constituency, in which Arora had reportedly credited self for a range of centrally funded projects.
'₹850 cr vanished into Buddha Dariya'
Sarin also took aim at both AAP and Congress govts of Punjab over the handling of Ludhiana's Buddha Dariya rejuvenation project. He said that despite Rs 850 crore — mostly from central schemes — being spent, the water body remained polluted. "The public deserves answers. Where was this money spent actually?" he asked. Sarin also questioned the outcome of Rs 1,500 crore allocated under the central Smart Cities Mission. "Where is the smart city?" he asked the Punjab govt and Ludhiana administration. "The same civic issues persist, but the ruling party continues to take credit without results." The BJP has made development accountability a key theme of its campaign ahead of the Ludhiana West byelection, urging voters to scrutinise the claims of its rival parties.
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