CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the Aam Aadmi Party's statewide door-to-door outreach campaign from Dhuri, taking the government's four-and-a-half-year report card to households and making ‘Mann Da Munafa’ a key part of the campaign narrative.
The outreach is being positioned by AAP as a direct connection with voters, with party workers tasked with taking the government's achievements and welfare measures to people at the grassroots level.
Highlighting the tangible financial benefits of the government's work, he said every family was receiving an annual benefit of Rs 1.82 lakh through initiatives including free electricity, healthcare, education and Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna.
Mann said AAP would go to every household with its record of work since 2022 and keep the campaign positive, focused on what the government has delivered for Punjab. He said the AAP would seek people's support on the strength of work delivered on the ground, while questioning the opposition over its record and the issue of drugs.
During the outreach, Mann went door-to-door across Dhuri, meeting families and interacting with people from all walks of life, including elderly residents, women, youngsters and children. He listened to their views, discussed the work undertaken by the government over the past four-and-a-half years and explained how various schemes and initiatives were translating into direct benefits for ordinary households.
Interacting with the people, CM Mann said, “Every family in Punjab is today benefiting by Rs 1.82 lakh annually from the initiatives rolled out by our government. This is not an abstract figure. It represents the money that a household no longer has to take out of its own pocket for electricity, healthcare, education and other essential services. I want every family to sit down and calculate for itself how much it is saving every month. That is the real meaning of ‘Mann Da Munafa’.”
He pointed out that his government's welfare initiatives had reduced the financial burden of essential services on families, allowing them to use their hard-earned money for other household needs.
“Free electricity, healthcare, education and Maavan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna are helping people save their hard-earned money. Lakhs of households across Punjab are receiving zero electricity bills, which means that money that earlier went towards electricity charges can now be spent on children, homes and farms. The expansion of primary healthcare has also meant that a fever, a check-up or a basic diagnostic test does not have to force a family to borrow money or dip into its savings,” he said.
On the campaign strategy, he said AAP would keep its election campaign focused on its governance record rather than personal attacks or negativity.
“Our entire election campaign will remain positive and we will talk only about our work. We will place our record before the people and let them judge it, rather than build a campaign on abuse and negativity. Our workers and candidates will carry the same message into every constituency: the savings delivered to families, the villages developed and public money spent on public welfare,” he said.
He said door-to-door outreach provided the most direct opportunity for political representatives to account for their work before the people.
Commenting on the opposition, CM Mann said, “Congress is fighting among itself in Punjab, with its leaders more occupied with internal contests than with the concerns of the people, while the Shiromani Akali Dal has been wiped out and no longer commands a presence on the ground. Parties that spent decades in power have been left with little to show for it, which is why they now avoid any discussion of performance.”
Mann also targeted the BJP over its anti-drug campaign in Punjab. The BJP has launched a statewide campaign against drugs, but Mann questioned the BJP's position on the issue and alleged that drugs had entered Punjab through Gujarat. He said those raising the issue for political purposes should also answer questions about their own record.
“With what face is the BJP talking about drugs when it is bringing drugs into Punjab from Gujarat? Those who raise the issue for political advantage must first answer for their own record. They do not have the moral right to question the state government when they were the people who introduced the drug problem in the state during their time in power,” he said.
Mann said the door-to-door campaign would now be taken forward across Punjab, with party workers and candidates presenting the government's record directly before households.
“Our party workers and candidates will now take this message to every constituency. We will talk about the record of savings delivered to families, the development of villages and public money being spent on the public. We have done the work, and that is why today we are coming before the people with our heads held high,” he said.