AAP Names Forty Sitting MLAs in First List for Punjab Assembly Polls

Candidates Named

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has released its first list of forty candidates for the Punjab Assembly election, placing its faith entirely in sitting legislators. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will seek re-election from the Dhuri constituency in Sangrur district. The term of the one hundred seventeen-member Punjab Assembly ends on March 16, 2027, with polls due early next year. In the previous 2022 election, the party secured a landslide victory by winning ninety-two seats.

Prominent Names

Among the key figures on the list, Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan will contest from Kotkapura. Minister Sanjeev Arora, who is currently in jail in an alleged money laundering case, has been renominated from Ludhiana West. Other candidates include Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar from Amritsar South, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Ajnala, Balkar Singh from Kartarpur, Ajitpal Singh Kohli from Patiala, and real estate baron Kulwant Singh from Mohali. In the industrial hub of Ludhiana, the party announced candidates for all five Assembly constituencies.

Selection Process

Chief Minister Mann stated that the party's Political Affairs Committee held detailed discussions before finalising the candidates. The selections were based on public surveys and feedback on the performance of sitting MLAs. The current list covers nearly thirty-four percent of the Assembly constituencies, and a senior party leader noted that announcing nominees months ahead of the polls gives them time to strengthen grassroots networks and put rival parties on the back foot.

Context

Early candidate announcements are a strategic push by political parties to begin grassroots campaigning before opponents mobilize. Choosing sitting legislators helps maintain internal party stability while reducing ticket-distribution conflicts ahead of major elections.