How bypoll wins in Gujarat and Punjab are a breather for AAP and Arvind Kejriwal

Four months after AAP's fiasco in the Delhi assembly polls in February, Arvind Kejriwal's party can finally heave a sigh of relief as the party hopes to stay relevant in Indian politics. On Monday, the party won bypolls to one seat each in Gujarat and Punjab.

While the AAP's Sanjeev Arora's win in Punjab's Ludhiana West is no surprise, the party's unexpected victory in Visavadar, a constituency in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat, is a shocker for the ruling BJP. AAP's Gopal Italia defeated BJP's Kirit Patel to bag Visavadar. BJP, however, managed to save its face by retaining Kadi seat in Gujarat.

Kejriwal said the massive victory in Punjab and Gujarat shows that the people in Punjab have faith in the 'politics of work' of the Aam Aadmi Party and there is a wave of change in Gujarat. "Even in the stronghold of Modi ji and BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party is now planting its flag," he said.

The AAP national convener claimed that the BJP and the Congress contested together but that did not stop the AAP from winning Visavadar. "This shows that there is a direct fight between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP in Gujarat," he said.

The former Delhi CM said the top leadership of the Congress has become a puppet in the hands of the BJP. "Common Congress workers and local leaders want to defeat the BJP but the top leadership is sitting in the pocket of the BJP. The Aam Aadmi Party is trying to save the country and all the states from the BJP. All the good workers of Congress should join AAP," he added.

AAP workers distributed laddoos in Delhi to celebrate the bypoll victories ahead of the 2027 elections.

The two remaining bypolls were held in Kerala's Nilambur, which was retained by Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), and West Bengal's Kaliganj was set to be claimed by Mamata's Trinamool Congress.

India