After Delhi loss, Arvind Kejriwal to focus on Punjab election in 2027

An AAP supporter outside the party headquarters in Delhi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal will meet party MLAs from Punjab in Delhi on Tuesday. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Cabinet colleagues, who campaigned for the party in Delhi, will also join the meeting.

According to sources, the leaders will analyse the Delhi election results and discuss strategies for the Punjab Assembly poll, scheduled for 2027.

The BJP bagged 48 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, with AAP winning the remaining 22 seats.

Mr. Kejriwal convened a meeting of his party’s MLAs-elect at his Ferozeshah Road residence on Sunday evening, a day after AAP lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi.

While AAP leaders stayed away from the media and did not address any press conference, some who lost the election addressed party workers in their respective constituencies during the day.

Addressing one such gathering, Durgesh Pathak, a senior party leader and member of AAP’s Political Affairs Committee, urged workers not to lose courage.

“If they [the BJP] plan to trouble anyone, they’ll first come after our workers. If they trouble any of our workers, you all should reach there in half an hour,” said Mr. Pathak, who lost the election from Rajinder Nagar.

Former Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj broke down during one such interaction, a video of which was shared by the party supporters on social media. Mr. Bharadwaj, who won the Greater Kailash seat in 2015 and 2020 with decisive margins, lost the constituency to BJP’s Shikha Roy by 3,188 votes.

While addressing the media on Sunday, Atishi, the outgoing CM, said, “AAP will play the role of a constructive Opposition and ensure that the BJP fulfils its promises, such as providing ₹2,500 per month to women and providing free power. The party will also see to it that the ongoing welfare schemes aren’t stopped.”