CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will declare its first list of approximately 15 candidates for the 2027 Punjab assembly tomorrow.
The top leadership of the ruling party held a meeting in Delhi to discuss and finalize the names of potential candidates. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Punjab affairs incharge Manish Sisodia attended the meeting.
Mann left for Delhi this morning, where he held discussions over a list of candidates for the 117 Assembly seats with Kejriwal and Sisodia.
Meanwhile Punjab AAP President Aman Arora and Political Affairs Committee member and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema joined the meeting through video-conferencing.
After the meeting Mann said that a meeting to discuss the candidates and key issues in Punjab was held today. "Another meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the party will be held tomorrow, when the candidates will be finalised and announced," he said.
Sources in the party said that AAP top brass had almost finalized about 15 names, the initial deliberations today focussed on candidates who have won assembly elections twice, with most of them expected to be considered for a third consecutive term. The party has not yet disclosed how many candidates will feature in the first list.
But political observers believe that sitting MLAs and constituency in-charges who are not facing significant opposition within the party could find a place in the first list. The announcement tomorrow will make AAP the first political party in the poll-bound state to declare its candidates. There is also speculation that the party could deny tickets to 30-40 sitting MLAs.
The AAP is reportedly planning to announce its candidates before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force, while the party is still in power. The strategy is aimed at giving candidates sufficient time to begin working in their respective constituencies and strengthen their ground-level presence before the election schedule is announced. Elections in the state are to be held as scheduled in the month of February. AAP currently has 94 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.
The Election Commission of India reviewing the election preparedness in the state and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over, sources in the party say that they intend to announce its candidates well in advance to give them time to reach out to voters and build support in their respective constituencies.
On Wednesday, a delegation of the Election Commission of India (ECI) comprising senior deputy election commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma, deputy election commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu, director general (IT) Seema Khanna and director general (Media) Ashish Goyal conducted a district-wise review of poll preparedness for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
During the meeting, the delegation interacted with all 23 district election officers, commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police. Officials gave presentations on the status of election preparedness in their respective districts.
They emphasized strict compliance with ECI guidelines, transparency in administrative processes, timely execution of pre-poll activities and robust enforcement measures across the state.
The chief electoral officer of Punjab assured the delegation that all election-related tasks would be carried out diligently and within the stipulated timelines, in accordance with the Election Commission's instructions, to ensure free, fair, transparent and inclusive polls.