06062024-LT-01.qxd 6/6/2024 1:01 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CITY’S PRIYANSH AGGARWAL BAGS AIR 429 IN NEET MALERKOTLA FALLS SHORT OF 70% TURNOUT TARGET CELEBS CYCLE FOR A GREEN CAUSE ON ENVIRONMENT DAY Priyansh Aggarwal of Gujranwala Guru Nanak Public School scored 710 out of 720 marks. P2 Only 50,881 female voters out of the total 74,840 had cast their vote with percentage coming out to be 67.98.P3 Actors Aparshakti Khurana, Sunny Kaushal, Aditya Seal & singer Stebin Ben take part in cyclothon. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 41°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 44°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.23 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:20 AM » THURSDAY | 6 JUNE 2024 | LUDHIANA Woman held in murder case Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 5 The Meharban police yesterday registered a murder case against nine persons, including two women. The suspects had badly beaten up a man, identified as Sukhwinder Singh (45), on Nine were booked for thrashing man June 2, who died during treatment at a hospital. The suspects have been identified as Amarjit Kaur, Rani, Jagdish, Binder, Bindri, Vicky, Lucky, Golu and Preet, all residents of Harkrishan Vihar. Amarjit was arrested by the police. The complainant Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Harkishan Nagar, told the police that on June 2, sewerage water was overflowing outside our house and her father Sukhwinder Singh was trying to remove the same. The suspects tried to stop her father from doing the work but he refused. Afterwards, arguments started between the man and the suspects. Later, they badly thrashed him. After her father turned unconscious, the suspects fled the scene. The complainant said they took her father to the Civil Hospital for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries on June 3. Investigating officer Inspector Harjinder Singh said raids were being conducted to nab the other suspects in the case who were at large. BJP biggest gainer, AAP major loser in vote share from Ludhiana INDIA DECIDES 2024 2 workers were charred to death when blaze engulfed unit Tribune News Service Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 5 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which contested the Lok Sabha elections alone for the first time since 1996, remained the biggest gainer while the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had won 13 of the total 14 Assembly seats in Ludhiana and 92 seats in Punjab in 2022, turned out to be the biggest loser in vote share from Ludhiana during the General Election to the 18th Lok Sabha held on June 1, the results of which were declared on June 4. While the vote share of the state’s main Opposition Congress, which won Ludhiana for the record fourth consecutive time while fighting separately from AAP despite both , parties being part of the INDIA bloc at the national level, also went up considerably. The result figures declared by Returning Officer Sakshi Sawhney, a copy of which is with The Tribune, showed that both the winner Congress and the runner-up BJP improved their vote shares while AAP which ended poor , third, remained the major loser. The official result data revealed that Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who was One of owners arrested in yarn mill fire death case Winner Cong’s vote share went up from 22.6% in 2022 to 30.42% in 2024, loser saffron party’s vote share more than tripled from 7.8% in 2017 to 28.45% in 2024, ruling AAP’s vote share almost halved from 42% in 2022 to 22.38% in 2024; SAD recorded lowest-ever 8.52% vote share in electoral history Voters stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Ludhiana. FILE TELLING NUMBERS YEAR VOTE SHARE CONGRESS 2024 30.42 2022 22.6 2019 37.1 2017 34.2 2014 27.3 2012 39.8 2009 53.1 BJP 2024 28.45 2022 13.4 YEAR 2017 2012 AAP 2024 2022 2017 2014 SAD 2024 2022 2019 elected from Ludhiana after defeating his nearest rival friend-turned-foe turncoat three-time sitting MP of the BJP Ravneet Singh Bittu by a decent margin of 20,942 votes, secured a vote share of 30.42 per cent by polling VOTE SHARE 7.8 11.7 22.38 42 21.8 25.5 8.52 15.6 28.9 YEAR 2017 2014 2012 2009 BSP 2024 2017 2014 2012 2009 VOTE SHARE 18.3 23.3 26.7 39.6 0.98 0.9 0.8 3.2 3.9 (SOURCE: ECI) 3,22,224 votes, including 3,21,424 EVM votes and 800 postal ballots. It was up from 22.6 per cent vote share that the Congress had secured from Ludhiana district in the 2022 Assembly poll, when it had for the first time in the electoral history, had lost all 14 Assembly seats in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population. However, the Congress vote share in this election was less than 37.1 per cent it got in the 2019 parliamentary elections and even lower than 34.2 per cent vote share it secured in the 2017 Assembly poll in Ludhiana. While the Congress vote share this time was better than 27.3 per cent votes it had polled in the 2014 LS elections, the 2024 show was much poorer than the 2012 Assembly and the 2009 parliamentary polls when the party had got 39.8 per cent and 53.1 per cent votes, respectively. continued on page 2 Ludhiana, June 5 In the fire incident that occurred at Daksh Knitwears on Tuesday morning, in which two workers were charred to death, the Daresi police yesterday registered a case against the two owners of the yarn mill. The suspects have been identified as Rohit Verma and Neeraj Verma, both residents of New Shakti Nagar here. The victims were identified as Gagandeep Kumar Sharma and Parveen Saini. Early on Tuesday morning, two workers were charred to death after a fire broke out in a factory. Six workers were inside the factory when the fire incident occurred of which four had managed to escape while two failed to go out. The duo had become unconscious due to smoke and later, they were charred to death. Investigating officer ASI Harpal Singh said one of the factory owners, Rohit Verma, was arrested by the police in the case on . Firemen douse the flames at the yarn mill in Ludhiana. FILE DC orders fire safety audit After the incident, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney on Tuesday had also ordered fire safety audit of all factories falling under the jurisdiction of the district. Officials of the Fire Safety Department and factories were directed to strictly complete the exercise in the next 10-days to ensure no untoward fire incident occur in the district. The audits should be thorough and cover all aspects of fire safety, including fire exits, alarms, extinguishers and emergency evacuation procedures. Besides, Sawhney also ordered that all industries/factories must ensure that their fire alarm and fire hydrant mechanisms must be in a working condition. She also directed owners of all factories to not to lock their factories from outside when labourers were working inside. Two friends killed in hit-and-run Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 5 Two friends died in a road accident on the SamralaMachhiwara road after the motorcycle they were riding was hit by an unidentified vehicle last night. The deceased were identified as Harshdeep Singh (24) of Sensowal Kalan and Gurwinder Singh (20) of Rahimabad Khurd. The duo were going from Samrala to Machhiwara when they met with the tragedy. They were hit by an unidentified vehicle and suffered serious injuries. Both of them died at the scene. The police launched a probe to identify the unidentified driver. PHG jawan booked for throwing tobacco into jail Three booked for opening fire after arguments Ludhiana, June 5 The city police on Tuesday registered a case against a Punjab Home Guard (PHG) jawan for throwing a packet of tobacco into the Central Jail, Ludhiana. Four inmates who connived with the guard were also nominated in the case. The suspects have been identified as PHG Ravi Kumar and inmates Charanjit Singh, Kulwant Singh, Gurmukh Singh and Jagmohan Singh. Assistant superintendent of jail Surinderpal Singh said on June 4 during a surprise checking in the jail, 32 sachets of tobacco were seized from four jail inmates. Later, when the inmates were questioned, they admitted that PHG Ravi Kumar had thrown tobacco into the jail, following which the jawan was also booked. Now, the guard would also be questioned and his role in earlier incidents of throwing drugs or other illegal products in the jail would also be verified. Connivance of the guard with other inmates would also be probed. So far, a case under the Prisons Act was registered against the suspects. A few days ago, the police had also nabbed a man for throwing drugs into the jail. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 5 The PAU police station yesterday registered a case against a man and his two accomplices for opening fire in the air after minor arguments with a person at Kitchlu Nagar. The suspects have been identified as Gurdeep Singh of Pritam Nagar, Preet Kamal of New Deep Nagar and Sandeep Sahni of Deep Nagar. The complainant, Varun Kumar, of Kitchlu Nagar told the police that on the night of June 4, when he was sitting in the balcony of his house, Gurdeep, along with his two aides, came and started arguments over some issue. When he protested the move, the suspects left the place. After some time, they again came and opened fire in the air. They also entered his house and thrashed him. He added that the suspects also damaged his Hyundai Creta vehicle parked outside his house. Before leaving, they also threatened him of dire consequences. Investigating officer in the case ASI Satnam Singh said raids were being conducted to nab the suspects. THE TRIBUNEINTERVIEW: AMRINDER SINGH RAJA WARRING, PUNJAB CONGRESS PRESIDENT AND NEW LUDHIANA MP ELECT Home is where heart is, my heart is in Ludhiana, beats for Cong, Amrita P UNJAB Congress president and new Ludhiana MP elect Amrinder Singh Raja Warring (46) feels that home is where the heart is and his heart is in Ludhiana, which, he said, has given him so much love and trust. He said his heart beats for his wife Amrita and the Congress. Having trounced his friendturned-foe turncoat Ravneet Singh Bittu of the BJP by a convincing margin of 20,942 votes in what he said was “war against the traitor”, the threetime sitting MLA from Gidderbaha and former transport minister said the Congress would continue to oppose the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state while focusing on ‘Mission 2027’. In an exclusive interview with Nitin Jain, the former Indian Youth Congress president said his wife Amrita was active in politics and if she wants to contest from Gidderbaha, which he will vacate following his election from Ludhiana, then she can approach the party. Excerpts: ■ Will you shift to Ludhiana from your hometown now? I have already shifted when I started the campaign here. Home is where the heart is. My heart is in Ludhiana, which has given me so much love and trust. When it comes to personal life and party, my heart beats for both my wife Amrita and the Congress as well. ■ What was the one main thing that made you victorious from Ludhiana? It was not just one thing. There were many. People’s support, workers’ hard work and dedication. ■ You were nominated from Ludhiana at the eleventh hour but you accepted the party’s decision upfront and took no time to take up the battle. How did you manage to make your way from Bathinda to Ludhiana? I have faith in my party and party workers and of course, my own ability to handle any challenge that I am faced with. But over and above, I will attribute it entirely to the party rank and file from grassroots workers to senior leaders who made it happen. ■ Your opponents dubbed you as an outsider. How did you manage to fight this charge? I don’t think I really needed to fight this charge. Nobody treated me as an outsider. Had it been so, would I be winning from here? ■ Your fight was against your friend-turned-foe sitting MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who had won two previous elections from Ludhiana. How difficult or easy did you find the contest? It was neither difficult nor easy. It was a challenge that I accepted. I worked hard and had immense support from people of Ludhiana which translated into our party’s victory. ■ While contesting yourself, you were also engaged in overseeing party affairs and campaigning across the state as PPCC chief. How did you manage and balance Ludhiana and Punjab affairs simultaneously? I tried to maintain a balance between the two. I was able to perform the PPCC president’s role simultaneously, only because my people from the party, who include those from my immediate family ❝ I had not chosen to fight from Ludhiana. It was the party that had chosen me. And the party belongs to everyone and everyone belongs to the party. Hence, there was no difficulty at all. also, were on the ground. ■ How difficult or easy did you find taking along party cadres and people along in Ludhiana? It was the party’s battle. I had not chosen to fight from Ludhiana. It was the party that had chosen me. And the party belongs to everyone and everyone belongs to the party. Hence, there was no difficulty at all. ■ In Punjab, Cong won seven seats to emerge as single largest party but tally came down from 8 in 2019. How do you see this mandate? This is a clear and categorical mandate in support of the Congress. People are looking forward to the Congress to provide leadership they need c m y b and deserve. Mandate is clearly for the Congress. ■ Congress and AAP fought separately in Punjab while both are part of the INDIA bloc and contested jointly in other states. After the results, are you convinced that the decision was right or wrong? Of course, it was a right decision on our part to contest independently in the state. That has been proved by the results. ■ With your seven seats won from Punjab also going to INDIA bloc of which AAP is also part. What will be your future plan as the main Opposition party against ruling AAP in the state? In 2022, people of Punjab chose us for the role of the Opposition. We will not move away from that responsibility. We have been doing it and we will keep on doing it. That is the reason we went alone in these elections. ■ Now, you will have to leave your three-time Gidderbaha Assembly seat, requiring a by-poll. Would you like to pitch for your wife Amrita for it as she was interested to contest this parliamentary elections from Bathinda as well? Amrita certainly is very much active in politics. You must have seen that she was an important part in the campaign here and has an immense role in the final outcome. Besides being my wife, she is also a party worker. If she wishes to contest, she can approach the party like any other aspirant and it is up to the party to decide on the candidate from Gidderbaha. ■ What would be your priorities for Ludhiana as MP? It is not that I have come to Ludhiana for the first time. It is impossible to be in Punjab and not have been to Ludhi- ana. Ludhiana is the heart of the state. It is the industrial capital of Punjab. It is a great and prosperous city. I want to see it at par with some of the best industrial hubs in the country such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, etc, and make it world famous. I will be presenting my blueprint soon after due consultations from experts. ■ What would be your future plan to further strengthen Congress in Punjab? Congress is already strong in Punjab as you have seen in the results. We will keep on working hard and taking everyone along. It is the responsibility of every Congressman in the state to watch and safeguard the party’s interests. Take it from me, the Congress will be doing far better in 2027 over what it did now. We are already into the “Mission 2027”. ■ After winning from Ludhiana and bagging seven seats in the state, your stature in the party has further risen. How do you see it? I am a team man and consider myself as one of the team members of the party with some additional responsibility. It is not Raja Warring’s feat and achievement, it is the achievement of the Congress scripted by the hard work of each and every worker. I don’t want to lay any exclusive claims to it just because I hold an extra responsibility of being the PCC president. ■ With BJP-led NDA all set to form a new government at the Centre. How would you benefit Ludhiana and Punjab as an opposition party? Governments, no matter of which party, are not exclusively for one particular party. Governments are for everyone. Like I am not just the MP of those who voted for me, I am the MP for all the people of Ludhiana, who voted for and against me and who did not vote at all. Same is the case with the governments. I have always believed in cooperation and conciliation when it comes to working for the people. Political differences need not be brought in while working for the public welfare.