The Aam Aadmi Party won the Punjab assembly elections for the third consecutive time, securing 82 out of 117 assembly seats in results announced on Friday. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who had made free electricity, clean tap water, and mohalla clinic healthcare his signature promises in the 2022 and 2024 elections, ran a campaign centred on continuity and delivery, pointing to measurable improvements in school infrastructure, power supply quality, and drug de-addiction programmes. AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal called the victory proof that people reward good governance.
The Congress, which governed Punjab before AAP entered the state in 2022, finished a distant second with 29 seats, while the BJP-SAD alliance managed only 6 seats combined, its worst performance in the state in four decades. AAP success in Punjab, combined with its government in Delhi, positions the party as the most established opposition force outside the Congress umbrella. Analysts noted that the rural vote, which switched dramatically to AAP in 2022, largely held in 2026 despite aggressive outreach by the BJP leveraging central government schemes.
