Jailed Minister Sanjeev Arora gets AAP ticket
AAP names Arora in its first list of 40 candidates despite his being lodged in Bhondsi Jail in a money laundering case; his bail plea was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court last month
Harvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, October 31, 2026: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday named jailed Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora as its candidate from Ludhiana West for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, making his candidature one of the most notable announcements in the party’s first list of 40 nominees.
Arora is currently lodged in Bhondsi Jail in Gurugram in connection with an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into an alleged money laundering case linked to suspected fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The announcement comes just 15 days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed his plea seeking relief in the case. The court rejected his challenge to the arrest and related proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on October 16.
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With the party choosing to renominate him from Ludhiana West, Arora’s political future and his ability to participate in the election campaign are likely to remain in focus in the run-up to the 2027 polls.
From Ludhiana businessman to Cabinet minister
Born on September 18, 1963, in Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora is an industrialist who entered active politics in 2022 when the AAP nominated him to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab.
A Bachelor of Commerce graduate, Arora had business interests spanning industry, real estate and finance, with operations in Ludhiana and the Delhi-NCR region. He was associated with Hampton Sky Realty Limited, formerly known as Ritesh Properties and Industries Limited.
According to his election affidavit filed during the 2025 Ludhiana West Assembly by-election, Arora had declared individual assets worth approximately Rs 278 crore, making him one of the wealthiest candidates in the Punjab Assembly elections. His wife’s declared assets took their combined wealth to over Rs 302 crore.
During his Rajya Sabha tenure from April 2022 to July 2025, Arora was associated with parliamentary work relating to health and infrastructure. He was also involved in initiatives concerning the development of the Halwara airport and the upgradation of government hospitals in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
He also ran the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust, established in memory of his parents, and supported cancer patients.
Resigned from Rajya Sabha to enter Punjab Assembly
Arora resigned from the Rajya Sabha in February 2025, with more than three years remaining in his term, to contest the Ludhiana West Assembly by-election. The seat had fallen vacant following the death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January 2025.
Arora contested the by-election and defeated Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu by 10,637 votes in June 2025, entering the Punjab Legislative Assembly for the first time.
Following his victory, he was inducted into Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Cabinet and initially assigned the Industries, Investment Promotion and NRI Affairs portfolios. He subsequently received the Power portfolio and, in January 2026, the Local Government department as well.
At the time of his arrest, he was handling key departments, including Industries and Commerce, Power, Local Government and Investment Promotion. He continues to be a Cabinet minister, although his portfolios were withdrawn following his arrest, according to previous reports.
The ED arrested Arora on May 9, 2026, from his official residence in Chandigarh following searches at multiple locations, including premises linked to him and his associates.
The investigation concerns alleged irregularities in mobile phone export transactions associated with Hampton Sky Realty Limited.
According to the ED’s allegations, fraudulent GST invoices worth over Rs 100 crore were generated through shell entities to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) on transactions involving mobile phone exports. The agency also alleged that funds were routed through Dubai and brought back to India as part of a suspected money laundering arrangement.
The investigation involves exports of Apple and Samsung devices to UAE-based buyers. The transactions reportedly involved approximately Rs 102.50 crore across 43 shipments between May and October 2023.
The company had sought GST refunds and customs duty drawback against these transactions. Tax authorities subsequently rejected a GST refund claim of over Rs 2 crore in November 2024.
The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on May 5, 2026, and arrested Arora four days later.
The agency also attached assets worth approximately Rs 55.57 crore in connection with the investigation, according to reports published in June 2026.
Arora has challenged the legality of his arrest and the proceedings against him, arguing that statutory safeguards and his fundamental rights were violated. His legal team questioned the basis and circumstances of the arrest.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed his plea on October 16, 2026. He remains in judicial custody at Bhondsi Jail, Gurugram.
The allegations against him are yet to be established through a trial.
AAP continues to back Arora in Ludhiana West
Even before Saturday’s announcement, the AAP had indicated that it was not looking to replace Arora with another candidate in Ludhiana West.
In September, party leaders had told The Indian Express that the party continued to support him and that his family and office staff were monitoring constituency-related development works.
The party had also indicated that the decision to contest would rest with Arora and that it could support a member of his family if he was unable to enter the electoral contest.
However, Saturday’s announcement has now formally put Arora’s name on the party’s first list for the constituency.
The AAP’s first list of 40 candidates also includes Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri and Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura.
Arora’s nomination puts the spotlight on Ludhiana West, where he had won the 2025 by-election against Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu.
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