The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) chief ministerial face for Punjab will be announced next week, said AAP president and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, 12 January.
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, Kejriwal, according to ANI, said:
"We assure the people of Punjab that we will improve law and order situation and ensure justice in all previous incidents of sacrilege if the AAP comes to power. Security will be ensured to all – be it PM or anyone else. Name of CM's face will be announced next week."
The state of Punjab is slated to go to the polls in February, with the Election Commission recently announcing 14 February as the date of polling.
AAP has high hopes as it notched up an impressive performance in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections, winning 14 out of 35 wards in the city, while the BJP won 12 wards, Congress 8, and Shiromani Akali Dal 1. AAP candidates had managed to upset several top-ranking BJP nominees.
For instance, the sitting mayor of the BJP, Ravi Kant Sharma, was defeated by AAP's Damanpreet Singh. Former mayor Davesh Moudgil lost to AAP's Jasbir Singh.
Former senior deputy mayor Heera Negi of the BJP lost to Anju Katyal of AAP. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat had come down to Chandigarh to campaign for Negi.
However, whether AAP will be able to translate the Chandigarh win into a win for the Punjab polls is yet to be seen.
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