New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday hailed the party’s performance in the Gujarat and Punjab bypolls, asserting that there would be a “bigger storm” of AAP in the 2027 Punjab assembly elections as people have decided to reject both the BJP and the Congress.
The AAP leadership said the bypoll results show that Kejriwal has made a “powerful comeback” to national politics after the party’s defeat in the Delhi assembly elections in February this year.
Former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the party’s victory is a huge setback to the BJP, which was claiming that it had finished AAP after the Delhi assembly polls. AAP leaders claimed that this is a morale boost for the party’s grassroots workers.
In Punjab, AAP retained the Ludhiana West assembly seat with its candidate Sanjeev Arora registering a victory in a fierce electoral fight against his nearest rival and Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu by a margin of 10,637 votes.
Addressing a press conference after the results, Kejriwal claimed that people are quite happy with their government in Punjab.
Arora is a Rajya Sabha MP from the AAP-ruled Punjab and he will have to resign from the Upper House.
In Gujarat’s Junagadh district, former AAP state president Gopal Italia emerged victorious in Visavadar, defeating BJP’s Kirit Patel by 17,554 votes.
Kejriwal said AAP had won both Visavadar and Ludhiana West seats in the Gujarat and Punjab elections respectively in 2022. But now the party has won the two seats with double the margins of what it got in 2022, he said.
The AAP supremo said this was a “huge indication” that people were “quite happy” with the party government’s work in Punjab. AAP had won 92 seats out of 117 in Punjab at that time and it was said there was a storm of AAP.
“Many people are saying this is like a semi-final and we can think that if this is a semi-final and 2022 was a storm, then 2027 will be a bigger storm. We can think that people are quite happy with our work in Punjab.
“Ludhiana West has shown the mood of people. People of Punjab have put a stamp of approval on the party’s work,” he said.
Kejriwal also accused the Congress of working in tandem with the BJP, saying, “The Congress has become the puppet (‘kathputli’) of the BJP. I urge the Congress workers to join AAP and support honest politics.”
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann praised the result as a reflection of people’s faith in the AAP government.
“We are working day and night with absolute honesty and without discrimination to ensure Punjab’s progress and prosperity. This huge lead clearly indicates that people are happy with our work,” he said.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia celebrated both victories, terming them a morale boost for the party’s grassroots workers.
“AAP has won the semi-final in Punjab with a resounding mandate; now it’s time for the final,” he said.
On Italia’s win in Gujarat, Sisodia said, “Gujarat’s lion Gopal Italia will now roar in the Assembly. People of Gujarat have placed their trust in Kejriwal’s politics of work.”
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh called it a phenomenal victory.
“In the BJP’s stronghold Gujarat, AAP has secured a historic victory. Gopal Italia has won the Visavadar seat by a massive margin. It’s a proud day for every AAP worker,” Singh said.
Former Delhi chief minister Atishi said, “Sweeping wins in Ludhiana West and Visavadar send a clear message – people want politics of performance, not propaganda.”
Gopal Rai, AAP’s Gujarat in-charge, took a swipe at the BJP, saying by delivering a historic victory to AAP, the people of Visavadar have given a resounding rejection to BJP’s Operation Lotus. The margin of victory is three times higher than last time, he said.
Celebrations broke out at AAP offices in Delhi, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad, with party workers distributing sweets and raising slogans in support of Kejriwal’s leadership.
With Punjab and Gujarat both heading to assembly elections in 2027, AAP’s double victory in these politically significant states is being seen as a signal of its expanding national footprint.
