Months after suffering a major setback in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has bounced back with critical bypoll victories in Gujarat and Punjab, signaling a strong resurgence for party chief Arvind Kejriwal. The standout win came from Visavadar in Gujarat, where Gopal Italia defeated the BJP in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s home state—making it a high-impact political upset.
While the Ludhiana West seat win in Punjab boosted AAP’s image in a state it governs, the Gujarat result carried greater symbolic weight. Visavadar hasn’t been a BJP fortress since 2007, but AAP’s victory here is notable because the party’s earlier MLA, Bhupendra Bhayani, had defected to the BJP just four months ago. Defeating the ruling party in a bypoll—something rarely seen—has allowed AAP to claim the mantle of BJP’s primary challenger in Gujarat, relegating the Congress to third place.
For Kejriwal, the win is a strategic and emotional rebuttal to Modi and Shah, following his recent imprisonment in the Delhi excise policy case. After the Delhi loss, he had pivoted focus to Punjab—drawing criticism for being the real power behind the scenes in the state while Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is seen by many as a figurehead.
The AAP needs to retain Punjab to maintain its national party status and political relevance, and Sanjeev Arora’s win in Ludhiana West has helped counter growing perceptions of anti-incumbency against the Mann government.
Kejriwal is now expected to increase his presence in Gujarat ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. With Congress continuing to lose ground across states, AAP is eyeing expansion in Goa and Bihar too, aiming to contest more seats in upcoming elections.
The Congress’s only consolation in the bypolls came from Kerala’s Nilambur seat, where it triumphed over the ruling CPI(M). But AAP’s latest wins point to a shifting political dynamic where it is increasingly replacing Congress as the BJP’s chief opposition force.
