New Delhi: With back-to-back political debacles, the Aam Aadmi Party is finally back in the reckoning after winning two seats in the Gujarat and Punjab bypolls, the latter being crucial for the party’s future as speculation is rife that the party supreme, Arvind Kejriwal, is likely to go to the Upper House. In the recently-concluded Delhi Assembly polls, Mr Kejriwal lost the New Delhi seat and since then the party is planning to get him elected to the Rajya Sabha. A section in the party also feels that if not Mr Kejriwal, then Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia should go to the Upper House.Addressing the media at the AAP headquarters in the national capital on Monday, Mr Kejriwal, however, said he would not go to the Rajya Sabha, after the party’s sitting Upper House member Sanjeev Arora won the Ludhiana West bypolls in Punjab.When asked whom the party will nominate in Mr Arora’s place, Mr Kejriwal said: “Many times I have been sent to the Rajya Sabha by the Opposition but I want to tell you I am not going to the Rajya Sabha. The political affairs committee of the party will decide whom to nominate.”Ever since Mr Kejriwal lost to the BJP’s Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi Assembly seat, Opposition parties including the Congress have claimed that he would enter the Upper House in Mr Arora’s place.A section in the party, however, wants Mr Kejriwal to get into the Rajya Sabha as it would open the party’s prospects on a larger stage. If not him, the party wants their second biggest leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to be in Parliament. A party insider said: “Arvind ji and Manish ji are our tallest leaders and their presence in Parliament will not only boost the party’s prospects but will also raise national issues at a bigger pedestal which will benefit the party at the pan-India level.”“The year 2027 is very crucial for the party, as four major elections will be held where the AAP has high stakes… First, Punjab will go to the polls, where the party is in power, followed by Gujarat and Goa, where the party has a presence in both legislative assemblies. Later that year, the Delhi’s civic body elections will also be held, which the party had won in 2022 but lost its majority after the 2025 Assembly polls. So either of the two top leaders need to be at the centrestage of Indian politics to turn the tables in AAP’s favour,” they said.After the bypoll wins, celebrations broke out at the AAP office where party workers distributed “laddoos” and raised slogans, calling the results a glimpse of the political shift expected in the run-up to the 2027 elections.Mr Kejriwal hailed the party’s performance in the Gujarat and Punjab bypolls, calling them a “semi-final to 2027” and a clear sign that voters would reject both the BJP and the Congress.Punjab’s ruling AAP retained the Ludhiana West Assembly seat and the Visavadar seat in Gujarat.Criticising the Congress, he alleged that the grand old party was working hand-in-glove with the BJP. “These bypolls showed how the Congress leadership helped the BJP just to defeat the AAP. The Congress has become the kathputli (puppet) of BJP. I request Congress workers to realise this and join the AAP,” he said.Mr Kejriwal continued: “We have won with almost double the margin by which we won in 2022. This shows that we are doing good work in Punjab. Some people are saying this is a semi-final to 2027 — there will be a storm of AAP in 2027.”He said the people of Punjab had endorsed the AAP’s governance with overwhelming support. “By giving us a huge margin win, the people of Punjab have given their stamp of approval on the AAP’s work in the state,” he said.He also emphasised the significance of the AAP’s win in Gujarat, traditionally a BJP bastion. “It is often said that the ruling party wins in bypolls. But our win in Gujarat shows that people are fed up with the 30 years of BJP rule. They now see AAP as a credible alternative,” he added.
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