Ludhiana: Commuters faced widespread gridlock and severe transit delays across Ludhiana on Sunday after a major political rally effectively monopolised the city’s primary arterial roads.Traffic collapsed entirely near the Jalandhar Bypass intersection as police diverted mainline traffic into narrow service lanes to accommodate welcoming ceremonies for arriving BJP national president Nitin Nabin. The sudden diversion triggered kilometres-long queues of standard vehicular traffic.The traffic disruption escalated significantly as visiting party delegations from neighboring districts abandoned their vehicles indiscriminately along major roadsides and inside local residential pockets. Police personnel struggled to clear the resulting gridlock, which extended directly into the Model Town Extension area.Inside the choked precinct, party organizers transformed key intersections with massive promotional hoardings and legal barricades to facilitate Nabin’s maiden visit.Arriving political figures —including Rajya Sabha member Tarun Chugh and Union minister of state for railways, Ravneet Bittu — were greeted with fireworks and flower garlands directly on the thoroughfare. The severe traffic disruptions overshadowed the official opening of the new district party headquarters.Addressing the gathered crowd, former state president Sunil Jakhar urged political workers to resist sectarian divisions, warning that rival factions were actively attempting to fracture the electorate along religious lines.
