Sisodia back as AAP Punjab in-charge after 5 years

Days after its defeat in the assembly elections in the national capital, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday named former Delhi deputy chief minister and senior leader Manish Sisodia and former minister Satyender Jain as in-charge and co-in-charge of the party unit in Punjab.

Sisodia has replaced Jarnail Singh, a four-time AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar in Delhi, as the Punjab affairs in-charge, while Jain comes in place of Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha. These appointments are part of a major organisational rejig carried out by the party nearly six weeks after its Delhi loss. These decisions were taken at a meeting of the AAP’s political affairs committee at its national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in the national capital. Both Sisodia and Jain were among the AAP bigwigs who lost their assembly seats.

The organisational restructuring marks Sisodia’s return as the in-charge of party affairs in Punjab after a gap of five years. The AAP first made Sisodia in-charge of the party affairs in the state in December 2017 after a string of losses and an underwhelming assembly polls performance in Punjab. However, the party was soon rocked by internal squabbles leading to rebellion by former leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira, the then AAP legislator from Bholath, and some other party MLAs, who later floated their separate political outfit. Jarnail was appointed in place of Sisodia in February 2020.

After his appointment, Sisodia took to ‘X’ to express his gratitude to Kejriwal and the party leadership for entrusting him with the responsibility. He also said that his mission is to fast-track Punjab’s transformation, focusing on employment, education, and development while cracking down on crime, drugs, and unemployment. He pledged to take this change to “rocket speed” to ensure that every citizen experiences the impact of ‘Badalta Punjab.’ A party spokesperson said the decision signaled a renewed push for governance and transformation in the state.

The former Delhi deputy CM, who was consulted by some Punjab ministers from time to time, has been seen visiting and inspecting government schools in Punjab in recent weeks along with the state’s education minister Harjot Singh Bains and meeting party legislators.

Announcing the restructuring, the AAP posted on X that all new in-charges will remain full-time in their respective states until the elections conclude. The ruling AAP is being questioned by opposition parties for quite some time over its party high command calling the shots in the state government. However, AAP insiders say the Delhi election results have heightened the party’s stakes in the state. “These changes have been carried out to prepare the party for future challenges, including the upcoming Ludhiana West bypoll and the 2027 assembly elections. Both (Sisodia and Jain) are seasoned leaders. If our central leaders guide us, who are they (opposition leaders) to question us,” said a senior party MLA, who did not want to be named. The new state in-charges’ first challenge will be the Ludhiana West bypoll where the AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha member and industrialist Sanjeev Arora.