Arvind Kejriwal to lead key discussions with Punjab leadership; Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expected to attend the party meeting

Chandigarh/New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has stepped up preparations for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, with its senior leadership expected to discuss the selection of candidates for the first list at a proposed meeting in Delhi this weekend.

The meeting is expected to be chaired by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also likely to participate. According to media reports citing party sources, the leadership is considering announcing its first set of candidates in the first week of November, although the party has not publicly confirmed a release date.

The discussions are expected to focus on candidate selection and the party’s electoral strategy as it prepares to defend its position in Punjab. Reports suggest that the initial deliberations may include sitting MLAs who have won two consecutive Assembly elections, with many potentially being considered for another term. The final decisions, however, remain subject to the party leadership’s deliberations.

The move would give AAP candidates additional time to establish contact with voters, assess constituency-level concerns and strengthen their organisational networks ahead of the polls. The party has also been appointing constituency-level functionaries and gathering feedback on the implementation of government schemes and the performance of its elected representatives.

AAP currently has 94 MLAs in Punjab’s 117-member Assembly, according to The Tribune. The party won a sweeping majority in the 2022 Assembly elections and is now preparing to seek another mandate, with its governance record, welfare programmes and employment initiatives expected to feature prominently in its campaign.

The party has already begun laying the groundwork for the next election. In September, Mann launched AAP’s election pamphlet for the 2027 polls, marking an early push to take the government’s record and campaign message directly to voters. Kejriwal has also publicly projected Mann as the party’s face for the next Assembly contest.

The proposed candidate-selection meeting comes as political parties in Punjab intensify their preparations for the next electoral battle. For AAP, announcing candidates well ahead of the formal election schedule could provide more time to organise constituency-level campaigns and address local political challenges.

The precise date of the Delhi meeting and the timing of the first candidate list have not yet been officially confirmed by AAP. The reported early-November timeline should therefore be treated as an expectation based on media reports and party sources, rather than a formal announcement by the party.