New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is expected to announce its second list of candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections on Thursday, following a meeting of its Political Affairs Committee (PAC) in Delhi this evening.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has left for Delhi to attend the meeting, which will be chaired by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. The committee is expected to discuss candidates for several Assembly constituencies as the party steps up preparations for the 2027 elections.
The second list is likely to include the names of some cabinet ministers, sitting MLAs and constituency in-charges. The party is expected to assess candidates’ winnability and discuss its electoral strategy before finalising the names.
The meeting is considered significant as AAP has already announced its first list of candidates, beginning its preparations well ahead of the end of its current term. With the early announcement, the party became the first political outfit to declare candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections.
AAP released its first list on October 31, naming candidates for 40 constituencies. The list included several sitting MLAs and senior party leaders. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann was named as the candidate from Dhuri, while Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was fielded from Kotkapura.
The party also renominated several MLAs who had won their respective constituencies in the previous two Assembly elections.
Three MLAs quit after first list
Following the announcement, three sitting MLAs resigned from the party. Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who represents Sanour, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, the MLA from Samana, resigned from AAP. Both later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with former AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh.
After the Assembly Speaker accepted the respective resignations, the seats in Samana, Sanour and Amritsar North fell vacant.
The second list is expected to provide further clarity on the party’s candidate-selection strategy, particularly in constituencies where the names of ministers, sitting MLAs and local office-bearers are under consideration.
