Bhagwant Mann to contest from Dhuri as AAP releases first list of 40 candidates for 2027 Punjab polls

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will seek re-election from his Dhuri constituency in the 2027 Assembly elections, ending speculation about a possible change of seat. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday released its first list of 40 candidates, renominating all sitting MLAs included in the announcement.

The list was announced by AAP National Secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta following a meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) in Delhi. The early announcement signals the party’s preparations for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, expected in early 2027.

Among the prominent names is Cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora, who has been renominated from Ludhiana West despite being in judicial custody in connection with an Enforcement Directorate (ED) money-laundering case. Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan has also been renominated from Kotkapura.

Malwa dominates AAP’s first candidate list

The first list is heavily weighted towards the Malwa region, which accounts for 27 of the 40 candidates. Malwa has 69 of Punjab’s 117 Assembly constituencies, while Majha and Doaba have 25 and 23 seats, respectively.

The party has named five candidates from Majha and eight from Doaba, reflecting Malwa’s prominence in its initial selection.

Malwa, particularly the districts of Sangrur, Barnala and Mansa, has been central to AAP’s political growth in Punjab. However, several constituencies in these districts have not figured in the first list.

The regional distribution is significant because Malwa has traditionally been a strong electoral base for the AAP. Despite its dominance in the region, the party has left several constituencies in Sangrur, Barnala and Mansa unannounced in this initial list.

Four women and seven Scheduled Caste candidates in first list

The AAP has included four women candidates in its first list:

• Inderjit Kaur Mann – Nakodar

• Santosh Kataria – Balachaur

• Baljinder Kaur – Talwandi Sabo

• Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora – Moga

Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora also heads the party’s Punjab women’s wing. The list additionally includes seven Scheduled Caste candidates.

Four former ministers have also been renominated: Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Ajnala, Bram Shanker Sharma (Jimpa) from Hoshiarpur, Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar from Amritsar South and Balkar Singh from Kartarpur.

Aman Arora and Harpal Cheema missing from first list

Punjab AAP president Aman Arora does not figure in the first list. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and several other Cabinet ministers have also not been included.

However, the party has nominated its working president Amansher Singh (Shery Kalsi) from Batala. Several constituency-level in-charges appointed by the AAP have also not received tickets in this announcement.

The party currently has 94 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, according to the figures cited in the report. Its first list appears to favour sitting legislators, with all 40 MLAs included in the announcement being renominated.

The party has, however, dropped four ministers from the Cabinet during its tenure. One of the prominent names is Balkar Singh, a former Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who was removed from the Cabinet after an objectionable video, purportedly featuring him, surfaced. He has now been renominated from Kartarpur.

An AAP leader said the party had opted for relatively safe constituencies, adding that surveys had also favoured the selected candidates.

Full list of AAP’s 40 candidates for Punjab Assembly elections 2027

With the announcement of its first 40 candidates, the AAP has begun its preparations for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections well ahead of the polling schedule.

The decision to renominate sitting MLAs in the first list indicates the party’s willingness to continue with several existing legislators. However, the remaining 77 constituencies are yet to see candidate announcements.

The upcoming lists will provide a clearer picture of the party’s broader electoral strategy, including its choices in constituencies where it has not yet announced nominees.