In a boost to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, the party wrested three Assembly by-polls in Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Chabbewal, all three of which were vacated by Congress MLAs who were elected to the Lok Sabha while the Congress won the Barnala seat in the by-polls. With this victory, the AAP will have 94 seats and the Congress will have 16 in the 117-member Assembly. The AAP managed to breach the Congress bastion in Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak segments, however, it lost its own stronghold of Barnala Assembly segment to the main Opposition party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) drew a blank in the by-polls as its candidates remained at a distant third spot in the four seats. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had stayed away from the by-polls. The by-polls, which took place on November 20, were necessitated after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

The by-polls were seen as a litmus test for Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, as a victory was important for him because his party faced a drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, in which it could win just three of the 13 Parliamentary constituencies in Punjab.  The stakes were also high for the main opposition, Congress. Prestige was at stake for its MPs, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Randhawa, whose wives contested the by-polls from Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats, respectively. The BJP was also looking to put up a strong show in the by-polls after it drew a blank in the General Election from the state.

 As the results came in, AAP leaders and workers burst firecrackers, distributed sweets and danced to the beats of dhol, while victory marches were taken out by the successful candidates in their respective constituencies.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann congratulated the people of Punjab for the "spectacular" victory in the by-polls.  "Under the leadership of @ArvindKejriwal ji, Aam Aadmi Party is touching new heights day by day across the country. We are working day and night honestly and without any discrimination for the progress and prosperity of Punjab. We will fulfil every promise made to Punjabis during the by-elections on a priority basis. Best wishes to everyone," he posted on X.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, posted on X, the people of Punjab have once again expressed their faith in the ideology of the AAP and the work of the state government by giving three out of four seats to his party in the by-polls.

In Gidderbaha, AAP candidate Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon defeated his nearest rival Congress nominee Amrita Warring, who is the wife of Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. In a three-cornered contest, Dhillon defeated Congress nominee Amrita Warring by a margin of 21,969 votes.

Dhillon secured 71,644 votes while Amrita got 49,675 votes. BJP candidate and former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal secured 12,227 votes while SAD candidate Sukhraj Singh got only 715 votes.

AAP nominee Ishank Kumar Chabbewal won the Chabbewal segment in Hoshiarpur. He defeated his nearest rival and Congress nominee Ranjit Kumar by a margin of 28,690 votes. Ishank polled 51,904 votes while Congress party candidate Kumar secured 23,214 votes. BJP's Sohan Singh Thandal was on the third spot with 8,692 votes. The Chabbewal by-poll was necessitated after Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, who was a Congress MLA but later joined the AAP, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur.

Ishank, who is the son of Raj Kumar Chabbewal who represented the Chabbewal segment in 2017 and 2022 on Congress tickets.  AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa won the Dera Baba Nanak seat after he defeated Congress nominee Jatinder Kaur by a margin of 5,699 votes.

In the fierce contest between the Congress and the AAP, Randhawa secured 59,104 votes while Kaur polled 53,405 votes. BJP candidate Ravi Karan Singh Kahlon could manage just 6,505 votes as he trailed at third spot. In the neck-and-neck contest, Kaur was leading from the third to the eighth round of counting. But later, Randhawa maintained the lead in the following rounds.

Kaur is the wife of Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who represented this seat in 2002, 2012, 2017 and 2022.