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Punjab: Aman Arora, a Hindu face, replaces Mann as AAP state president
Arora’s appointment is widely seen in political circles as effort by the AAP to attract Hindu voters, particularly in urban areas, while also countering the growing influence of the BJP in the state
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday named cabinet minister Aman Arora, 50, as the new state president of the party in Punjab.
Chief minister and present state unit chief Bhagwant Mann announced the appointment on X, a day after Arora’s name was cleared for the post by the political affairs committee of the AAP at a meeting held in Delhi. The AAP has also appointed Batala MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi, 37, as the state working president of the party.
“Today, I have handed over the responsibility of party president to two of my close colleagues, cabinet minister Aman Arora and MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi. The party has decided that Aman Arora will serve as the party president and Sherry Kalsi as the working president,” Mann posted on X, expressing full confidence in their ability to strengthen the party organisation in Punjab and take it to new heights.
Arora, the minister for new and renewable energy and governance reforms, is a prominent Hindu face of the AAP in Punjab. He has replaced Mann, a Jat Sikh, as the state president. Arora’s appointment is widely seen in political circles as effort by the AAP to attract Hindu voters, particularly in urban areas, while also countering the growing influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
Ashutosh Kumar, a professor of political science at Panjab University, said the AAP made the appointment with an eye on Hindu votes. “The AAP came to power by promising to eradicate corruption and drugs, but they have failed to deliver on these promises. The BJP is the rising force, and they (AAP) are taking these steps to retain their support base,” he said, describing the move as a “rearguard action.” The BJP, which ended its alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal four years ago, is making an aggressive push to expand its presence in the state ahead of the 2027 assembly polls.
However, AAP’s state general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat countered that the party is secular and appointments are based on performance, not caste or community. The state party chief’s appointment, which has come a day before the results of the recent byelections to Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Barnala and Chabbewal (SC) assembly seats, was in the offing for some time. Mann, who has been holding the post since 2017, was the first to indicate this change by expressing a desire last month that he would speak to the party’s central leadership for appointing a full-time president of the state unit.
“Being the chief minister, I have big responsibilities. I have 13-14 departments. I will speak to the party to appoint a full-time state unit chief so that the responsibilities can be divided,” he stated after addressing a campaign rally in poll-bound Chabbewal on October 27.
Arora’s name started doing the rounds for the post immediately, but the AAP central leadership waited for the election process to get over to announce his elevation.
After the declaration, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal wished Arora and Kalsi success in their new responsibilities. “I am confident that Aman Arora and Sherry Kalsi will work tirelessly to address the issues of the people and take the party to greater heights,” he stated. The AAP leadership has tasked Arora with strengthening the party’s organisational set-up at the grassroots.
Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan also congratulated Arora and Kalsi on getting the responsibility of party president and working president, respectively.
Arora thanked Kejriwal, Mann, party national general secretary, organisation, Sandeep Pathak and the entire political affairs committee for entrusting him the important responsibility. “I will build on the organisational foundation already established in Punjab and strengthen the party further,” he said.
A two-time MLA from Sunam in Sangrur district, Arora, the son of former Punjab minister Bhagwan Das Arora, is a former Congressman who joined the AAP in 2016. He is among those who led the AAP’s rise in the state. Arora was first elected to the assembly in 2017 and then scored a huge victory by more than 75,000 votes in the 2022 assembly elections, forcing the forfeiture of security deposits of all his opponents.
Kalsi is a first-time MLA from Batala. The AAP fielded him from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in the April-May 2024 parliamentary polls and he came third behind Congress’ Sukhjinder Randhawa and BJP’s Dinesh Singh with 25% of the total votes polled.
