From ‘Punjab-First’ to ‘Delhi Model’, AAP on a slippery slope

Punjab’s voters may punish AAP in 2027 if local voices remain sidelined by Arvind Kejriwal’s dominance

Punjab’s political landscape has long resisted the ‘High Command’ culture, where power flows from Delhi’s distant corridors. The Congress governments in the state struggled to assert autonomy, while regional parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) fiercely defended Punjabi identity.

As the state heads toward the 2027 elections, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appears to be repeating history. What began as a grassroots movement promising Badlav (change) increasingly resembles a subsidiary of a Delhi-based corporate firm, with Arvind Kejriwal acting as the hands-on CEO of a struggling branch office.

The turning point came in February 2025. The Delhi Assembly poll was supposed to be a victory lap for AAP; instead, it delivered a crushing blow. The party collapsed from a dominant 64 of the total 70 seats to a mere 22. In the aftermath, a wounded Kejriwal summoned 91 Punjab MLAs to Delhi, signalling a strategic pivot — Punjab, AAP’s lone governing state, would now be micromanaged by the central leadership.

From then on, the ‘Delhi Model’ became not just a policy framework, but a management structure. AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was installed as the Punjab in-charge, and the optics in Chandigarh changed overnight. Kejriwal ceased to be a guest at rallies; he became the protagonist. Whether launching healthcare schemes or anti-drug campaigns, he now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, often appearing as the de facto decision-maker.

AAP’s charm in 2022 was its promise of a ‘Punjab-first’ governance model. Mann was the face of that local aspiration. Today, he looks increasingly sidelined. Key decisions in finance, education, and health — once the pride of the local administration — now bear Delhi’s imprint. This ‘Delhi Shadow’ is most visible at major state functions where bureaucrats share stages with Kejriwal — a leader with no constitutional role in Punjab.

Examples abound: the January launch of ‘War Against Drugs’ phase two, or the October inauguration of the ‘Roshan Punjab’ power project. Both blurred the line between party and government. The trend began early, when in 2022 Kejriwal appointed Raghav Chadha to head a state advisory panel. These optics don't just fuel Opposition rhetoric about ‘remote-control’ governance; they validate it. Perhaps more concerning is the systematic import of Delhi advisers into Punjab’s key boards, sidelining local talent.

For a party built on local volunteers, this feels like a betrayal of the original mission.

Resentment is rising. Punjabi politicians do not take well to ‘diktats’ from Delhi. Resentment is growing among AAP MLAs who feel sidelined, while promises on drug eradication and debt relief remain unfulfilled. The suspension of Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh for questioning the party's direction was seen as a warning shot to potential dissenters.

This friction mirrors 2018, when Mann resigned as state chief after Kejriwal’s apology to Bikram Majithia, and Sukhpal Singh Khaira quit the party over Kejriwal’s ‘dictatorial attitude’, defecting to the Congress, a move that severely dented AAP’s local standing for years.

The Opposition senses an opportunity. The Congress claims over 30 AAP MLAs are in contact, predicting a split before the 2027 polls. Meanwhile, the SAD has launched its ‘Punjab Bachao’ yatra, focusing on the state's burgeoning debt and the drug crisis. Even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expanding its urban footprint, exploiting the ‘outsider’ narrative now sticking to the AAP. While AAP performed reasonably well in the December rural polls, these victories often hide a deeper erosion of trust.

AAP stands at a crossroads. Punjab has a history of rejecting external dominance, as seen when Captain Amarinder Singh’s 2021 exit fractured the Congress. If AAP persists with centralisation, it risks the same fate.

Survival demands a genuine ‘Punjab Model’ — empowering Mann, listening to local MLAs, and addressing crime, debt, and drugs beyond slogans.

If the party continues to prioritise central control over Punjab’s local grievances, it may find that by 2027, it has no stronghold left to pivot from. Voters of Punjab are patient, but never subservient. Without course correction, AAP faces heavy losses to a resurgent Opposition — the Congress reclaiming urban and SC votes, and the SAD pushing for Panthik consolidation. This will jeopardise not just its chances in Punjab, but its national ambitions.

Sayantan Ghosh is the author of The Aam Aadmi Party: The Untold Story of a Political Uprising and Its Undoing.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)