24062025-TTB-01.qxd 6/24/2025 12:40 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 9 NO. 173 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 FORMER CHIEF OF ELECTION COMMISSION ARRESTED IN BANGLADESH WORLD /thetribunechd 2 HELD IN PAHALGAM ATTACK SENT TO 5-DAY NIA REMAND J&K ESCALATING TENSIONS TRIBALS SUFFERED DUE TO IN W ASIA WORRY RICE NAXALISM FOR 35 YEARS, EXPORTERS BUSINESS SAYS SHAH BACK PAGE tuesday | 24 june 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com bloc bags 4 of 5 AAP wins big in Ludhiana West bypoll, OppnBJP’s lone victorybypoll seats, in Guj boost for party ahead of 2027 elections Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Arora defeats Cong’s Ashu by 10,637 votes | BJP, Akali Dal split opposition pie Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 23 The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday scored an emphatic victory in the Ludhiana West Assembly byelection, the polling for which was held on June 19. Party candidate Sanjeev Arora defeated his nearest rival, Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress, by an impressive margin of 10,637 votes. Arora secured 35,179 of the 90,160 votes polled, while Ashu received 24,542 votes. Jiwan Gupta of the BJP and Parupkar Singh Ghuman of the SAD got 20,323 and 8,203 votes, respectively. The byelection was necessitated by the sudden death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi in January this year. The election was challenging for the ruling party, as both the Congress and BJP conducted spirited and aggressive campaigns. The segment was considered a Congress stronghold until 2022, when Gogi, a former Congressman who joined AAP ahead of the elections, defeated Ashu by a margin of 7,512 votes. This time, AAP retained control over the seat and improved its victory margin to 10,637 votes. While AAP secured an impressive win, it benefited mainly from the division of Opposition votes among the Congress, BJP and the SAD. The combined vote share of these three parties was about 60 per cent, compared to AAP’s 39 per cent. Despite facing anti-incumbency, the ruling party staged a remarkable comeback. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAP had continued on page 10 edit: bypoll boost AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora (C) participates in a victory procession after the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll result on Monday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN VOTE SHARE MIRRORS 2022 ASSEMBLY POLL 2025 BYPOLL RESULT SAD PARTY AAP CONG BJP SAD 35,179 24,542 20,323 8,203 OTH VOTES 9.10% 2.12% VOTE SHARE BJP 22.54% AAP 39.02% CONG 27.22% VOTES 40,443 32,931 28,107 10,072 SAD OTH 8.58% 4.95% VOTE SHARE BJP 23.95% AAP 34.46% CONG 28.06% Punjab Cong working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu resigned from the post, taking moral responsibility for the defeat MORE INSIDE PUNJAB SET FOR CABINET EXPANSION RSS CORE BANK PEPS UP VOTE SHARE TALK OF SAD-BJP REUNION AGAIN How Kejri & Co scripted win after Delhi loss Ruchika M Khanna NOT GOING TO RS The party’s political affairs committee will decide whom to nominate to the Rajya Sabha… I am not going. Arvind Kejriwal, AAP CONVENER Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 23 The Aam Aadmi Party’s decisive victory in both Ludhiana West and Visavadar bypolls has given a much-needed boost to its convener and “strategist-in-chief,” Arvind Kejriwal. The wins signal a political resurgence for him after AAP’s setback in the Delhi Assembly elections earlier this year. Kejriwal has, however, made it clear that he ❝ will not replace the newly elected Ludhiana West MLA in the Rajya Sabha. The final decision, he stated, would be made in the party’s political affairs committee meeting US allies in Gulf shut airspace as Tehran attacks Qatar base Retaliation hours after Putin assures Iran of support DOHA/ISTANBUL/TEL AVIV, June 23 Iran’s military said it carried out a missile attack on the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar on Monday after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for US airstrikes on its nuclear sites. The retaliation by Iran came hours after its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Iranian military said the attack was “devastating and powerful” but US officials said no US personnel were killed or injured in the attack on the airbase, the largest US military installation in West Asia. Iran, which had been warned by Washington not to retaliate or face massive US military action, had informed the US via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as the Qatari authorities, a senior regional source said. Qatar’s defence minister told Al Jazeera its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al Udeid airbase. Iran had issued threats to retaliate against the US after its bombers dropped 30,000pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, join- ASHU QUITS AS CONG WORKING PRESIDENT 2022 scheduled for later this week. The victory in Ludhiana West, a constituency that, barring 2022, had been held by either the Congress or Akali Dal for nearly three decades, 8-member DGCA team starts AI main base audit New Delhi, June 23 The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday launched a detailed safety and operational audit of Air India’s main base in Gurugram amid mounting concerns over safety lapses following the crash of the airline’s London-bound flight in Ahmedabad earlier this month. A specially expanded eightmember DGCA team, more than double the usual audit strength, began the review on Monday. While officials said the audit was scheduled before the June 12 crash that killed all but one of the 242 continued on page 10 also underscores the success of AAP’s strategy of projecting Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as the party’s face while Kejriwal, along with Punjab affairs in-charges Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, handled the backend political manoeuvring. After the Delhi elections, Kejriwal and his close aides quickly shifted focus to the bypolls. AAP was the first to announce its candidate, Rajya continued on page 10 New Delhi, June 23 In the results for byelections to five Assembly segments across Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal and Gujarat declared on Monday, the BJP had to settle for a lone win in Gujarat’s Kadi reserved seat while opposition bloc parties walked away with the remaining four. The Aam Aadmi Party retained both its seats— Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress again registered a victory in Nadia district’s Kaliganj segment, improving the victory margin over 2021. In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front dealt CONG WINS IN KERALA ■ AAP retains one Assembly seat each in Punjab, Gujarat ■ TMC retains Kaliganj in WB with a better margin over 2021 ■ Congress defeats CPM-led LDF in Kerala's Nilambur ■ BJP retains Gujarat’s Kadi SC seat, but loses Visavadar a major blow to the ruling Left Democratic Front by wresting Nilambur from the CPM-led coalition. This is the fourth consecutive bypoll loss for the LDF in the southern state. Overall, the results came as a shot in the arm for opposition parties considering this was the last election cycle before the Assembly elections in Bihar later this year, followed by West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam in 2026. For Pak will go to war if India denies it water: Bilawal Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 23 Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Monday said his country would go to war with India if it denied Islamabad a fair share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). India had put in abeyance the 1960 agreement soon after the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 people were killed. Home Minister Amit Shah recently announced that India would never restore the accord. Bhutto’s comments came two days after the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, led by Ishaq Dar, criticised what it called Shah’s “brazen disregard” for international agreements. Bhutto, in a speech in the Pakistani Parliament, reject- ed the Indian decision to keep the IWT in abeyance and threatened to get Pakistan’s share of water through a war. “India has two options: share water fairly, or we will deliver water to us (Pakistan) from all six rivers,” he said referring to the six rivers of the Indus basin. “The IWT is not in abeyance, it is binding on Pakistan and India, but the threat of stopping water is illegal, according to the UN charter,” Bhutto was quoted as saying by a news agency. Bhutto, who heads the Pakistan Peoples Party, threatened that if India decided to follow through on the threat, “we will have to wage a war again”. The former Foreign Minister also highlighted the importance of talks and cooperation, especially in counter-terrorism efforts. continued on page 10 REMEMBERING KANISHKA VICTIMS Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri pays tributes to the victims of the Air India Kanishka bombing at the Ahakista memorial on the 40th anniversary of the incident, in County Cork, Ireland. PTI Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. REUTERS Asia warming twice as fast as rest of world: WMO ing Israel’s air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled. The attack came shortly after a Western diplomat said there had been a credible threat to a US military base in the Gulf state following the unprecedented US airstrikes on Iran’s uranium enrichment programme. A source familiar with the matter said Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, had shut its airspace after receiving the advance warning from Iran. Bahrain, another US-allied Gulf Arab state Tribune News Service just to the north of Qatar, said it had also shut its airspace after the Iranian strike against the Al Udeid base. In addition, the US Ain alAsad airbase in Iraq had activated its air defence system out of concern for a potential attack, military sources said. The main US military base in Iraq’s western neighbour Syria was also on full alert for possible attack by Iran or Iran-aligned militia groups, a Syrian security source said. Meanwhile, Putin assured Tehran of Moscow’s support in de-escalating the Israel-Iran continued on page 10 New Delhi, June 23 Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fuelling more extreme weather conditions and wreaking a heavy toll on the region’s economies, ecosystems and societies. This alarming revelation has been made in the State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The report said in 2024, the average temperature in Asia was about 1.04°C above the 1991-2020 average, making it WORRYING FIGURES ■ 48,000 cases of heatstroke, 159 deaths in India ■ 23 of 24 glaciers in central Himalayas and Tian Shan have reportedly lost a lot of mass ■ 0.24°C per decade rise in sea temp, almost double the global rate of 0.13°C either the warmest or second warmest year on record. Also, the warming seen between 1991–2024 was almost double the trend seen during the 1961-1990. The report said in the last year, heatwaves gripped a record c m y b area of the ocean. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record, with Asia’s sea surface decadal warming rate nearly double the global average. Sea surface temperatures influence extreme rainfall patterns in India. “The rise in sea level on the Pacific and Indian Ocean sides of the continent exceeded the global average, heightening risks for low-lying coastal areas,” the report said. Reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat led to an increase in hazards like floods triggered by glacial lake bursts and landslides and long-term risks for water security. In the central Himalayas and Tian Shan, 23 out of 24 glaciers suffered mass loss, the report said. Extreme rainfall wreaked havoc and heavy casualties continued on page 10 the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP , today’s victories were the first following party’s Delhi debacle earlier this year. A spirited saffron campaign in Visavadar failed to break the 18-year jinx for the BJP which has not won , this segment since 2007. Visavadar was at the centre of the Patidar agitation in 2007. AAP’s former state chief Gopal Italia defeated BJP’s Kirit Patel by 17,554 votes. The only bright spot for the BJP today was Kadi SC reserved seat of Mehsana where party’s Rajendra Chavda trumped Congress’ Ramesh Chavda by 39,452 votes. The BJP however, took , heart from Punjab performance where its candidate Jivan Gupta (20,323 votes) continued on page 10 edit: fillip for oppn Pakextendsairspace banforIndianaircraft NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Monday extended the airspace ban on Indian aircraft for another month. The ban was initially imposed on April 23 for one month in the wake of tension between the two countries following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Later, it was extended. The ban has now again been extended from June 23 to July 23. — TNS India slams OIC for commenting on J&K NEW DELHI: In a sharp retort to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, India has said the body had no locus standi to comment on India’s internal affairs, including Jammu & Kashmir, while reminding the body of its own repeated failure to acknowledge real and documented threat of terrorism that had been emanating from Pakistan. INSIDE Need to counter terrorinallforms, DovaltellsWang at Beijing meet New Delhi, June 23 National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Monday emphasised the need to counter terrorism in all its forms for overall regional peace and stability during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Doval is on a visit to China to attend a conclave of top security officials of the member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides reviewed recent developments in India-China bilateral relations and underscored the need to promote the overall development of the bilateral ties, including by fostering greater people to people engagement. Doval and Wang also exchanged views on other bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. “The NSA noted that he looked forward to meeting with Wang Yi in India at a mutually convenient date for the 24th round of the Special Representative (SR) talks,” it said. Doval and Wang Yi are SRs on the boundary question. The SRs were tasked by PM Modi and Chinese President Xi in October last year to work out a formula to resolve the boundary issues. — TNS