Accelerating its early campaign strategy ahead of the 2027 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday, November 12, 2026, unveiled its second list of 31 candidates following a crucial Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting at national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in New Delhi. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann travelled from Chandigarh to the national capital to participate in the deliberations, where senior party leaders evaluated internal survey reports, local feedback, and winnability across key constituencies. While speculation earlier in the day centred on whether the party would announce around 20 names, the PAC cleared a broader slate of 31 nominees signed off by National Secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta. Notably, the second list signals a clear willingness to shake up the status quo: unlike the first list of 40 candidates released on October 31—which retained all sitting legislators—Thursday’s announcement drops eight sitting MLAs while fielding Sangrur Lok Sabha MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from his former Assembly stronghold of Barnala.

Major Names and Strategic Shifts Across Majha, Doaba, and Malwa

With 71 candidates now officially declared out of Punjab’s 117 Assembly seats—well ahead of the Election Commission’s formal poll schedule expected for February–March 2027—AAP is looking to give its nominees an early head start on ground mobilisation. Thursday’s second list balances experienced state leaders with fresh faces across all three major geographical regions of Punjab, focusing heavily on 21 constituencies where the party fell short during the 2022 state elections. Prominent selections include Lok Sabha MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Barnala, Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal from Phagwara, former Amritsar mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu from Amritsar North, and Saravjit Kaur Manuke from Jagraon. In Jalandhar’s urban and semi-urban belt, the party has placed its bets on Nitin Kohli (Jalandhar Central), Vaneet Dhir (Jalandhar North), Deepak Bali (Jalandhar Cantonment), and Pawan Kumar Tinu (Adampur), while fielding Raman Bahl from Gurdaspur, Sonia Mann from Raja Sansi, Swaran Singh Salaria from Sujanpur, and Parminder Singh Goldy from Kharar.

Key Candidates Announced in AAP’s Second List for Punjab Assembly Elections 2027

The table below highlights the prominent constituencies and candidates confirmed in the November 12 announcement across Punjab’s three primary electoral regions:

Why AAP Dropped 8 Sitting MLAs While Holding Decisions on Cabinet Ministers

Political observers in Chandigarh and New Delhi note that replacing eight sitting legislators in the second phase underscores the party leadership’s strict reliance on constituency-level performance audits and voter sentiment surveys. Having swept 92 seats in the 2022 Assembly polls—a tally that briefly touched 94 before recent political realignments and defections—AAP faces the dual challenge of countering anti-incumbency in certain pockets while consolidating organizational discipline. Party insiders confirmed that Thursday’s PAC meeting did not take a final call on the candidatures of sitting cabinet ministers, deferring those high-stakes decisions to subsequent rounds of consultation. Meanwhile, in the first list released on October 31, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was renominated from Dhuri, Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura, and Sanjeev Arora from Ludhiana West.

What Comes Next in Punjab’s Early Electoral Battle

By announcing 71 candidates months before the formal election notification, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann have seized the early narrative in Punjab’s multi-cornered political contest against the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, and Bharatiya Janata Party. With 46 constituencies still awaiting nominations—including several ministerial seats—further PAC meetings are expected in the coming weeks as AAP finalizes the remaining names and braces for any local dissent from dropped legislators.