New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday celebrated his party’s strong showing in the recent assembly bypolls, calling it a “semi-final” ahead of the crucial 2027 Assembly elections in Punjab and Gujarat. The AAP secured two out of five contested seats — a major win in Gujarat’s Visavadar and a successful retention of Punjab’s Ludhiana West — drawing praise from Kejriwal and energizing party workers.
“Out of five seats, AAP has won two — one in Gujarat and one in Punjab. Compared to 2022, our margin has doubled,” Kejriwal said in a press conference in New Delhi. He congratulated Gopal Italia and Sanjeev Arora for their victories and declared that these wins signal growing support for AAP’s governance model.
“Punjab is happy with our performance — this bypoll is just a trailer. The final in 2027 will be a political tsunami,” he said confidently. Kejriwal also claimed that the victory in Gujarat marks a significant shift in the political atmosphere of the BJP stronghold. “Defeating BJP in Gujarat is difficult, but this result proves that the people are fed up with their rule. Winds of change are clearly blowing,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Congress, Kejriwal accused it of working hand-in-hand with the BJP. “Congress has reduced itself to BJP’s puppet. Its leadership is doing nothing but helping the BJP win state after state,” he alleged.
Amid growing speculation about his entry into the Rajya Sabha, Kejriwal clarified, “I am not going to Rajya Sabha. The political affairs committee of our party will decide who will be nominated.”
Victories in Focus:
In Gujarat, Gopal Italia secured the Visavadar seat in Junagadh district by defeating BJP’s Kirit Patel with a convincing margin of 17,554 votes. The BJP has failed to win this seat since 2007, and Italia’s victory is seen as a major breakthrough for AAP in the state. The seat became vacant in December 2023 after sitting AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani switched to the BJP.
In Punjab, AAP’s Sanjeev Arora retained the Ludhiana West seat, beating Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu by 10,637 votes. Arora secured 35,179 votes, while Ashu managed 24,542. BJP’s Jiwan Gupta received 20,323 votes, and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Parupkar Singh Ghuman got 8,203.
Meanwhile, in other bypoll results, Congress-led UDF wrested Nilambur in Kerala from the LDF, the BJP retained Gujarat’s Kadi seat, and the Trinamool Congress maintained its lead in West Bengal’s Kaliganj constituency.
