Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will release its first list of candidates for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections on Saturday, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said after a meeting with party national convener Arvind Kejriwal and state party in charge Manish Sisodia in New Delhi on Friday to finalise names.Mann said candidate shortlists will go to the party’s political affairs committee for approval at 11am on Saturday. “I will be able to share the final list with you around 12 pm,” Mann said, remarking that AAP would keep up its tradition of announcing candidate lists early.Asked if the party would prioritise incumbent MLAs or field fresh faces, the CM said: “The choice will be based on (public) surveys — whether people appreciate the work done by the sitting party MLAs.”The meeting was held at Kejriwal’s residence. AAP Punjab president Aman Arora and state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who is also a PAC member, attended via video conferencing.AAP is likely to announce 15 to 20 candidates, said sources, while Mann said that discussions centred on “evaluating names” rather than settling on a specific count.“AAP will seek votes on the developmental initiatives undertaken during the party’s five-year tenure. We want to focus on positive politics,” Mann said.AAP has 95 MLAs in the 117-member Punjab assembly. Party sources indicated that as many as 30 to 45 MLAs are at risk of being denied tickets due to adverse internal survey feedback.Asked about the possibility of an alliance between Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP in the state, the CM said, “If you add zero to zero, it will remain zero. Both parties are zero.”Halqa in charges strong contendersParty insiders suggest that while AAP is likely to name the obvious choices in its initial list to avoid upfront dissidence, newly appointed halqa in charges — even those assigned to seats held by MLAs — remain strong contenders for election tickets. Key recent appointments include former Punjab BSP chief Jasvir Singh Garhi for Chamkaur Sahib, where AAP’s Charanjit Singh defeated former Congress chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi in 2022. Also, tourism adviser Deepak Bali is in the reckoning for Jalandhar Cantonment, a seat held by Congress state chief Pargat Singh. The party has designated former SAD minister Surjit Singh Rakhra as halqa in charge for Samana, alongside Balbir Singh for Shahkot and mayor Vineet Dhir for Jalandhar North.
