Punjab Elections: AAP Announces First List Of 40 Candidates; CM Bhagwant Mann Gets Ticket

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has intensified its election preparations for the 2027 assembly elections in Punjab. The party released the first list of 40 candidates on Saturday. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has once again been fielded from Dhuri assembly seat in Sangrur district. Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan has been made the candidate from Kotkapura. By revealing the names of the candidates even before the election schedule is announced, the Aam Aadmi Party has adopted a strategy of giving its candidates adequate time to work in the field and reach out to the voters. 

Which leaders were the names of the candidates decided on?

A meeting of the top leadership of the party was held in Delhi on Friday to finalise the list of candidates. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, CM Bhagwant Mann and Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia participated in it. Punjab State President Aman Arora and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema participated in the meeting through video conferencing. In this meeting, names of possible candidates from different assembly constituencies were discussed. After this the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party approved the list. 

On what basis were the candidates selected for giving tickets?

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had already made it clear that public opinion and the work of sitting MLAs would be given importance in the selection of candidates. The party had conducted surveys in various areas, in which the performance of the MLAs and their acceptability among the people was assessed. According to Mann, the party wants to give opportunity to those leaders who have public support. He had also said that in case of ticket, merely being a sitting MLA is not a guarantee of a leader's candidature.

The Aam Aadmi Party hereby announces the following candidates for the Punjab Legislative Assembly Elections, 2027. https://t.co/dsbqLTNwLa

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 31, 2026

What is the strategy behind releasing the list before the elections?

Aam Aadmi Party has also been declaring the names of candidates long before the elections. This time also the party has carried forward this tradition. Early declaration of tickets will give candidates time to increase contact with people in their assembly constituencies, understand local issues and activate the organisation. There are a total of 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly and the next elections are scheduled for early 2027. In such a situation, with the release of the first list, election activities are likely to intensify in the state. 

On which issues will the party go among the public? 

Bhagwant Mann had said after the meeting held in Delhi that the party will seek votes from the public in the upcoming elections on the basis of its five years of work. Works related to electricity, water, education, health services, roads and infrastructure will be the main issues of the party's election campaign. Describing it as positive politics, Mann had said that the government will go among the people regarding its work.