Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has released first list of its candidates for the upcoming state Assembly polls scheduled early next year. The chief minister will contest from the Dhuri seat again. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is part of the list of 40 candidates for 2027 assembly polls.
The party had held a high-level meeting on candidates selection at the residence AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi on Friday. The meeting was attended by Kejriwal, Mann, state in-charge Manish Sisodia and other senior leaders. Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan will contest from Kotkapura. Interestingly the list also has the name of jailed Minister Sanjeev Arora who will contest from Ludhiana West. Arora was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May this year in an alleged money laundering case and is currently lodged in Bhondsi jail in Gurugram. The AAP has dismissed the charges as political vendetta by the BJP-led Centre.
The case involves an alleged ₹100 crore to ₹157.12 crore money laundering and fake GST billing racket linked to Hampton Sky Realty Limited (where Arora was a former CMD), featuring bogus exports and shell companies.
The Election Commission is yet to announce the polling schedule. The elections are due in early 2027, with polling expected around February-March. The five-year term of the 117-member Punjab Assembly ends on March 16, 2027. AAP has 95 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab assembly.
