''Monsoon of hope'' for AAP?

After weeks of political gloom following its crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections and a loss of control in the capital’s municipal politics, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) found cause for celebration as it retained both seats in the recent assembly bypolls in Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab.

Though both constituencies were previously held by AAP, the wins come as a much-needed morale booster for the party, particularly as its top leadership, including the Aam Admi Party's boss Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a humiliating loss in Delhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), buoyed by its growing influence, had also taken control of the Delhi mayoralty, further demoralizing AAP’s cadre.

However, the results from Gujarat and Punjab have injected new energy into AAP’s rank and file.

The efforts of Gopal Italia have borne fruits

The more politically significant victory came from Visavadar in Gujarat, where AAP’s Gopal Italia staged a decisive win. Italia, a prominent Patidar leader, secured 51.04% of the vote, polling 75,942 votes to defeat the BJP’s Kirit Patel. Italia’s victory is being seen as a strategic win, especially after the previous AAP MLA defected to the BJP, a move that had forced the bypoll in the first place.

Congress was nearly wiped out in Visavadar?

Congress was virtually absent from the contest, with its candidate Nitin Ranpariya managing to secure only 5,501 votes. This dismal performance has raised fresh questions about the Congress’s revival strategy in Gujarat, despite repeated visits by Rahul Gandhi and efforts to rebuild the party’s base in the state. The result also underlines the shifting dynamics in Gujarat’s opposition space, with AAP now asserting itself as the principal challenger to BJP’s dominance.

Sanjeev Arora holds fort in Ludhiana west

In Ludhiana West, Rajya Sabha MP and AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora comfortably retained his seat, defeating his nearest Congress rival by a significant margin. Punjab continues to be AAP’s only strongest state, and while the victory was on expected lines, it reaffirms the party’s base and organizational strength in the state.

AAP has termed these bypoll results as a “semi-final” ahead of future electoral contests. However, political observers caution against reading too much into them, given that both seats were already under AAP’s control. Still, the Gujarat outcome, particularly in Visavadar, carries symbolic and strategic weight.

The twin wins offer AAP a chance to reset its political narrative. Following the Delhi debacle and the BJP’s aggressive push across states, questions were being raised about AAP’s national ambitions. The party now hopes to use the Visavadar result to push the message that it remains a resilient force and is far from being politically irrelevant.

By retaining Visavadar , despite the BJP’s strong challenge and defection drama , AAP may attempt to reposition itself as Gujarat’s real alternative to the BJP, marginalizing the Congress in the process.