Kejriwal Hits The Roads Once more, Bets Huge On Punjab & Gujarat Bypolls To Revive Political Fortunes

Final Up to date:June 02, 2025, 09:14 IST

Kejriwal’s renewed marketing campaign is essential for AAP, which is awaiting a comeback after the social gathering’s debacle within the Delhi meeting polls

Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP) chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has re-entered the election marketing campaign path, holding back-to-back roadshows in Punjab’s Ludhiana West and Gujarat’s Visavadar meeting constituencies final week. Each these assemblies are set to go for bypolls on June 19.

Kejriwal’s renewed marketing campaign exercise is essential for AAP, which is awaiting a comeback after the social gathering’s debacle within the Delhi meeting polls. Any victory—even in bypolls—is crucial for AAP, which is looking for methods to stay politically related.

After sweeping Delhi in 2015 and 2020, AAP suffered a serious setback in 2025. Kejriwal, who served as chief minister for practically a decade, misplaced his seat in 2025 and didn’t return to the Delhi Meeting.

Now, 5 meeting seats throughout 4 states are headed for bypolls and AAP is attempting its luck in three of those—Visavadar and Kadi from Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab. Each these states—Punjab and Gujarat—will go for meeting polls in 2027.

Punjab: A Bid for Parliament

After the social gathering’s defeat in Delhi, AAP and its management have shifted their focus to Punjab, the one different state the place they’re in energy.

The election in Punjab’s Ludhiana West is crucial for AAP for various causes, together with a possibility for Kejriwal to get entry into Parliament. In February, AAP named its Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Sanjeev Arora, to be its candidate for the Ludhiana West bypoll, even when the dates for the elections weren’t introduced.

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The seat fell vacant following the demise of AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi in January. The foundations state that the elections to fill a vacant seat need to be performed inside six months. The time period of the Punjab Meeting will finish in March 2027. Whereas AAP already holds a snug majority in Punjab, a win within the Ludhiana West bypoll would reaffirm its public mandate.

Final week, Arora filed his nomination for the bypoll. If he wins, he must let go of his Parliament membership. The Rajya Sabha seat then could also be contested by Kejriwal, the place the election will solely be a formality, as out of 117 MLAs in Punjab, 93 are from AAP.

On Friday, Kejriwal held a roadshow for Arora. Whereas addressing the roadshow, Kejriwal mentioned in 2022, his social gathering obtained assist from Punjab as they gained 92 of 117 seats. Kejriwal mentioned Arora “has Ludhiana working by his veins” and the constituency can’t “discover a higher candidate or MLA than him”.

The Ludhiana West meeting seat will see a four-way contest. The BJP has named Jiwan Gupta, whereas Congress is trusting its senior chief Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Among the many checklist of candidates can be Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parupkar Singh Ghumman.

Whereas Punjab holds strategic significance for AAP’s parliamentary ambitions, Gujarat presents a take a look at of its grassroots energy towards a long-dominant BJP that ended AAP’s greater than 10-year-old time period in Delhi.

Gujarat: Kejriwal Bets On Gopal Italia

After holding the roadshow in Punjab on Friday, Kejriwal went to Gujarat on Saturday to marketing campaign for Gopal Italia who’s contesting from Visavadar.

Within the 2022 meeting polls, AAP was elected from Visavadar. Nevertheless, sitting MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned from the social gathering and moved to BJP earlier this 12 months. Thus, the bypoll within the Visavadar seat turned obligatory. Although the BJP has dominated Gujarat since 1998, the Visavadar seat final elected the BJP in 2007.

Talking on the roadshow for the submitting of Italia’s nomination papers, Kejriwal mentioned for the final 18 years, the folks of Visavadar haven’t allowed the BJP to enter, and the social gathering has not been capable of win an election right here in all these years.

He went on to say that the BJP is insulting Visavadar “by horse-trading each elected MLA”.

“…BJP is brazenly saying that whoever the folks of Visavadar elect, they’ll horse-trade with them. Difficult the BJP, I say that this time AAP has fielded its largest hero—Gopal Italia. Let BJP attempt to break Gopal Italia, and I’ll stop politics. The folks of Visavadar should elect Gopal Italia with an enormous margin in order that BJP will get a decent slap,” he mentioned.

Aside from the Visavadar seat, Kadi—which is vacant as a result of demise of sitting BJP MLA Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki—may even go for bypolls. AAP has fielded Jagdish Chavda from the seat, who will file his nomination on Monday, the final day for nominations.

All these bypolls shall be held on June 19, and the counting shall be held on June 23. These bypolls is not going to simply resolve rapid winners however might form the political panorama of Punjab and Gujarat forward of the 2027 meeting elections.

Nivedita Singh

Nivedita Singh is a knowledge journalist and covers the Election Fee, Indian Railways and Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways. She has practically seven years of expertise within the information media. She tweets @nived…Learn Extra

Nivedita Singh is a knowledge journalist and covers the Election Fee, Indian Railways and Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways. She has practically seven years of expertise within the information media. She tweets @nived… Learn Extra

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