Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has responded to questions over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) denying election tickets to some sitting MLAs and other party leaders ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Mann said that not everyone could be given an election ticket and that several people would be assigned other responsibilities within the party.
Explaining the party's approach to ticket distribution, Mann said that some individuals work behind the scenes and may not always be in the spotlight and his remarks come shortly after AAP announced its second list of 31 candidates on November 12, taking the total number of declared candidates to 71 out of Punjab's 117 Assembly constituencies.
AAP announced its first list of 40 candidates on October 31, followed by another list of 31 candidates on November 12, and with these two announcements, the party has declared candidates for 71 constituencies, while nominations for the remaining 46 seats are still awaited.
The second list includes several prominent names, particularly from the Doaba region. In Jalandhar, the party has fielded Nitin Kohli from Jalandhar Central, Vaneet Dhir from Jalandhar North and Deepak Bali from Jalandhar Cantt. This means AAP has now announced candidates for all three Assembly constituencies in Jalandhar city.
Other prominent candidates in the second list include Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal from Phagwara, Pawan Kumar Tinu from Adampur, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Barnala and Jasvir Singh Garhi from Chamkaur Sahib.
Mann's remarks come at a time when candidate selection has become an important political issue within the ruling party and with several candidates already announced, attention is also on sitting MLAs and other party leaders who have not been given tickets.
The Chief Minister's statement makes it clear that not receiving an election ticket does not necessarily mean that a leader will have no role in the party, and according to Mann, some individuals will be given other responsibilities, while others will continue contributing through work that may not always be visible publicly.
Punjab has 117 Assembly constituencies, and AAP has so far announced candidates for 71 of them. The remaining 46 seats are yet to be covered and as the party continues its candidate announcements, the focus will remain on which leaders are retained, who gets a new opportunity and how the party accommodates those who do not receive election tickets.
