AAP Worried About Losing Hindu Voters To BJP? Month After Bhagwant Mann's Appeal, Punjab Unit Gets New President

Almost a month after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called for the appointment of a new state president for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the party has chosen Cabinet Minister Aman Arora as its state unit chief.

Also, Batala member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Amansher Singh Shery Kalsi has been appointed the working president. The appointments come after bypolls for four assembly seats in Punjab on 20 November.

The decision marks a shift of AAP's Punjab leadership from a Sikh to a Hindu as Mann was the AAP's state unit president since January 2019. It appears to be a bid to prevent the attrition of Hindu votes to the BJP.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the AAP secured 26.2 per cent of the vote share. It was down from the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections where AAP garnered 42 per cent of the votes.

On the contrary, the BJP's vote share increased 18 per cent in 2024 from 6.6 per cent in 2022. It is believed that it is the result of the shift of Hindu voters to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Last month, citing his responsibilities as a CM, Mann said that a full-time appointment of AAP Punjab president would help strengthen the party's organisational structure.