Bhagwant Mann will be AAP's face: Kejriwal says Punjab polls likely in November
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday declared Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as the party's face for the upcoming Assembly polls, while claiming that
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday declared Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as the party's face for the upcoming Assembly polls, while claiming that the state could go to the polls as early as November this year instead of the scheduled February 2027 timeline. Addressing a roadshow in Bathinda alongside Mann, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia and Punjab AAP president Aman Arora, Kejriwal said the party must prepare for an early election and work towards bringing Mann back to power. Read Full Story "I am told that the polls will be held in November (2026) and not February (2027). So, only four months are left now. We must get to work and make Bhagwant Mann the chief minister again," he said.
Kejriwal's remarks came a day after the party secured key victories in Punjab's civic polls, with its candidates being elected mayors in the municipal corporations of Barnala, Moga, Batala and Bathinda. Thanking voters for what he termed a "grand victory" in the local body elections, Kejriwal said AAP won 958 of the 1,977 wards across eight municipal corporations, 75 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats. Asserting that people were satisfied with the AAP government's performance over the past four years, Kejriwal said the public mood was unlike that seen during the final years of previous governments. "AAP has been running the government for four years in Punjab, and people are happy with its rule. We came to politics to do work.
I see smiles on people's faces and feel good that after four years, people are liking our work," he said. Referring to rival parties without naming them, Kejriwal said one was known as the 'chitta' (heroin) party, another as the 'jhagda' (fighting) party because of infighting among its leaders, while the third was the "ED party" that allegedly relied on central agencies to threaten opponents. "The fourth party is the Aam Aadmi Party -- your own party, which works for the people," he said. Praising Mann's leadership, Kejriwal said Punjab had seen many chief ministers over the past 75 years but none as honest as the incumbent. "The chief ministers of the past faced various allegations and scams. But not even a single allegation was levelled against Mann in the past four years.
If he faced any allegation, do you think (Narendra) Modi would have spared Mann? He would have been hounded by ED and CBI raids," he said. Kejriwal also highlighted welfare measures undertaken by the AAP government, including free electricity, health insurance coverage of Rs 10 lakh and financial assistance schemes for women. "The AAP is providing free power, Rs 10 lakh health cover, while financial aids of Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 for SC women will go into women's accounts from July. Now, you must make Bhagwant Mann the Chief Minister again so that the remaining works can be completed," he said. Ends (with inputs from PTI)
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