AAP Names Jailed Minister Among Its First 40 Punjab Candidates

Sanjeev Arora is still in Bhondsi jail, but the Aam Aadmi Party has named the minister as its candidate for Ludhiana West. The party’s first list for the 2027 Punjab election has 40 names, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who will run again from Dhuri. Arora denies wrongdoing, and the allegations against him have not been decided in court. ^1,3

The 40-name list followed a meeting of AAP’s Political Affairs Committee, where the party announced candidates across Punjab’s three regions. Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan will run from Kotkapura. The list includes 27 candidates from Malwa, five from Majha and eight from Doaba; AAP has also named four women and seven Scheduled Caste candidates. The election is due in early 2027, before the current Assembly’s term ends on March 16. ^2,3

Arora’s nomination puts AAP’s promise of clean politics under scrutiny. The Enforcement Directorate arrested him in May 2026 over alleged financial wrongdoing linked to his former company, Hampton Sky Realty. The agency’s case includes claims of fake GST transactions and money laundering. A Punjab and Haryana High Court bail request was rejected in October, and he remains in custody. AAP calls the investigation political retaliation, while Arora denies the charges. Those competing claims make his nomination a test of how the party weighs support for an accused leader against its promise to hold people accountable. ^1,6

That debate over accountability now moves into the election campaign. AAP won 92 of Punjab’s 117 seats in 2022 and will seek another term in power, starting with candidates who have months to meet voters and build local campaigns. The Election Commission has not yet announced the polling schedule. The party’s next clear step is to name candidates for the remaining constituencies; this list covers 40 of the 117 seats. ^4,10