AAP's bypoll wins were semifinals for 2027 assembly elections in Punjab, Gujarat: Kejriwal

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) victories in the Punjab and Gujarat bypolls were "semifinals" for the 2027 assembly elections, and the party is on track to form the next governments in these states.

He was speaking at an event to celebrate the party's twin victories in assembly bypolls held in Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab.

Thanking the voters, he asserted that the wins signalled two distinct political currents -- deepening public trust in AAP's governance in Punjab, and a strong, undeniable wave of change rising in Gujarat.

"The people of Gujarat have embraced the politics of transformation. This victory is not just electoral -- it is a triumph of trust and aspiration," said the AAP chief, who congratulated the newly elected MLAs -- Sanjeev Arora and Gopal Italia.

He asserted that in today's political environment, the AAP has drawn a bold new line of clean and honest politics.

"Our party has entered the political arena with the sole intention of bringing honesty and integrity back into public life. The victory of these two candidates is living proof of that mission," he said, adding that both the winners are clean, committed individuals.

Highlighting how AAP has broken old political myths, Kejriwal said there was a time when people used to say that good, honest individuals should stay away from politics.

"The AAP has shattered that notion. Good people should enter politics, but they must also work hard. If you work hard, the people will stand with you," he said.

The people want an end to the culture of goondas, criminals and hooligans who have infested political parties, he added.

Kejriwal said that only AAP is genuinely fighting for the country, and most importantly, against this corrupt system. "The other parties are deeply entrenched in that system," he said.

"I am confident that these recent elections in Gujarat and Punjab are the semi-finals. In the 2027 Punjab assembly elections, AAP will win more than 100 seats, and in Gujarat, AAP will form the government," he said.

Praising AAP's Punjab government, he predicted that the party should easily cross 100 seats in the 2027 assembly elections, that too with bigger margins.

Pointing to the fight against drugs in Punjab, he said the crackdown is unprecedented.

"Major drug smugglers are being caught. Bulldozers are being run over properties of the big fish. No matter how influential a person is, the message is clear -- they will not be spared," he said.

Kejriwal said that people who dragged Punjab into this drug mess, those who were the first to bring drugs into the state, were ministers from other parties.

"Back when they were in power, these ministers used government vehicles to transport drugs across Punjab. They even sheltered international smugglers in their own homes while serving as government ministers," he claimed.

Kejriwal's remarks came on a day when the Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested senior Akali leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia following a raid at his Amritsar residence in a disproportionate assets case, sources said.

The bureau seized 29 mobile phones, four laptops, two iPads, eight diaries and some documents from Majithia's residence, they said.

Pointing to the "changing political landscape in Gujarat", the AAP chief opined that for 30 years, people of the state had no real alternative, but today AAP has emerged as a strong option.

"The people of Gujarat see hope and possibility in AAP. Congress was never an alternative. Congress is in BJP's pocket, their top leadership is completely compromised," he said.

Kejriwal claimed that Congress betrayed them by fielding a candidate in Visavadar.

"In the last election, Congress won 17 seats. Out of those, five MLAs switched to BJP. AAP won five seats and one MLA switched to BJP. Congress asked us not to contest in their five seats, and in return, they would not contest in ours. We agreed. By-elections were held for those five seats last year, and AAP did not field candidates. But this time, when the by-election was held on the one seat belonging to AAP, Congress betrayed us and fielded a candidate against us," he claimed.

Congress' top leaders are sitting in BJP's lap, he alleged.

"Congress and BJP fight together when needed because they are both part of the same rotten system. AAP isn't just fighting BJP or Congress — we are fighting an entire corrupt system," he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that after independence there was fear that the country would fall into the hands of "black Britishers".

"Even after 75 years, basic problems like uncovered sewer lids persist because the earlier governments failed to work. Kejriwal started talking about education, health, electricity and infrastructure. It changed even the manifestos of other parties. Earlier there used to be staged fights, but AAP has given a new direction to politics," he said. PTI SLB SLB RUK RUK