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AAP Names First 40 Candidates for Punjab Polls, Mann to Contest Again from Dhuri

By Beauty of Bharat · Published 31 October 2026

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday, October 31, 2026, announced its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, becoming the first major party to name candidates for the polls due early next year. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will seek re-election from Dhuri, the constituency he represents, after the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) approved the list.

This post reflects reporting available on 31 October 2026, including The Indian Express, October 31, 2026, Telegraph India, October 31, 2026, NDTV, October 31, 2026 and Business Today, October 31, 2026. Where sources disagree or a detail is unconfirmed, the article says so.

A first list, and an early start

The announcement was made in Delhi by Mann following a PAC meeting, and the party published the list of 40 names for the 117-member Assembly. The Telegraph reports that AAP is the first major political party to declare candidates for the state polls due early next year, signalling an early start to its campaign organisation while other parties have yet to announce their nominees.

The Punjab Assembly's five-year term ends on March 16, 2027, according to the Indian Express, and polling is expected around February to March 2027. The Election Commission is yet to announce the polling schedule, so the exact voting dates remain unconfirmed and should not be treated as fixed.

Continuity is the message — with one notable exception

The dominant theme of the list is continuity. Most reports describe the 40 names as sitting MLAs renominated from their own constituencies, including Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura and four sitting women MLAs: Baljinder Kaur from Talwandi Sabo, Inderjit Kaur Mann from Nakodar, Santosh Kataria from Balachaur and Amandeep Kaur Arora from Moga. However, reports differ on the exact count, with Business Today saying 37 sitting MLAs were retained while other outlets describe all 40 as sitting MLAs, so the precise split is flagged as disputed here.

The most talked-about name is jailed Cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora, renominated from Ludhiana West. The Telegraph reports that Arora is in jail in connection with an alleged GST fraud-linked money laundering case involving certain entities linked to him. His inclusion, alongside Mann's renomination from Dhuri, has made the list's message unmistakable: the ruling party is backing its incumbents rather than refreshing its slate in the first round.

What remains to be decided

Forty seats cover roughly a third of the 117-member House, leaving 77 seats still to be announced. One report says a second list will follow next week, but that timing was not confirmed across the outlets checked, so it should be treated as reported rather than settled. How rival parties respond, and whether AAP's continuity strategy holds for the remaining seats, will shape the early Punjab campaign.

For voters, the practical takeaway is timing, not just names. With the term ending in mid-March 2027 and the Election Commission yet to publish a schedule, the campaign calendar is still open. The first list gives AAP's candidates a head start in their constituencies, but the contest itself will only take shape once the schedule and rival lists are announced.

Context and what to watch

Publishing a first list four months before the Assembly's term ends is, in itself, a statement of intent. With 40 of the 117 seats named and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann renominated from Dhuri, the Aam Aadmi Party is presenting continuity as its pitch, while leaving the bulk of its ticket — 77 seats — still to be announced. The reporting by the Indian Express, NDTV, Telegraph India and Business Today agrees on the headline numbers but not on every detail: whether 37 or all 40 of the first-list names are sitting MLAs is disputed between outlets, so that point is best treated as unresolved rather than settled.

What happens next is largely in other hands. The Election Commission has not yet announced the polling schedule, though polling is expected around February to March 2027, and the current Assembly's term ends on 16 March 2027. Watch for the Commission's dates, the timing and composition of AAP's remaining lists, and the rival parties' tickets — those three announcements will shape whether this early start turns into an advantage or simply a longer campaign.

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