AAP to begin door-to-door outreach in Punjab from September 20 ahead of 2027 polls

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab will begin a statewide door-to-door outreach campaign from September 20, ahead of the Assembly elections due in early 2027, party leader and Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Mr Sisodia said booth committee members would visit households across the State to explain the work of the incumbent government. "From September 20, as many as 2,68,553 booth committee members will go door-to-door across Punjab and take the government's work and achievements to the people," he said.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will join the campaign in Dhuri town, he said. The party will also launch its membership drive and release its election campaign pamphlet on September 19.

Mr Sisodia said the AAP government had completed four and a half years in office and claimed it had fulfilled all the promises it made in the 2022 Assembly election. These claims, made at a party press conference, have not been independently verified.

On the government's record in specific sectors, he said farmers had benefited from canal water and daytime electricity supply, and that children in government schools were receiving better facilities and opportunities. He also said the government had taken steps to prevent private schools from overcharging parents.

Turning to previous administrations, Mr Sisodia said: "Previous governments pushed Punjab towards financial distress and allowed the drug problem to spread. These issues will also be highlighted during the door-to-door campaign so that people can understand the difference between the previous governments and the work done by the Bhagwant Mann government."

The campaign is the first major statewide outreach announced by AAP since campaigning for the next Assembly election began to take shape. Punjab has 117 Assembly seats. AAP won 92 of them in the 2022 election, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was sworn in in March 2022. The Assembly's five-year term ends in March 2027, when elections are expected.

Door-to-door canvassing is a standard method used by political parties in Punjab to reach voters outside large public meetings, particularly in rural areas where booth-level networks are seen as decisive. AAP's stated plan relies on its booth committees, which the party says number more than 2.68 lakh members across the State.

Parties typically use such campaigns both to publicise their record and to identify supporters, update voter lists and recruit members ahead of elections. The simultaneous launch of a membership drive suggests the party intends to use the outreach for organisational expansion as well as messaging.

Sisodia did not specify how long the campaign would run or whether it would be followed by a second phase closer to the elections. No response from opposition parties to the announcement was reported at the time of publication.

The stated focus on canal water, electricity supply, school facilities and private school fees reflects issues that have dominated political debate in the State in recent years. Punjab's agricultural economy depends heavily on canal irrigation and subsidised power, while school education and the regulation of private institutions have been recurring subjects of public discussion.

Parties in the fray are expected to sharpen their campaigns over the coming months as the State moves closer to the election period. AAP's outreach beginning September 20 marks an early, organised start to that process.