Punjab will be among the first states to vote in 2027. The term of its 117-member assembly ends on 16 March 2027, which means the election — and the counting — must be completed before then. The Election Commission has not announced the dates.
Punjab at a glance
- Seats: 117 (majority: 59)
- Reserved for Scheduled Castes: 34 seats
- Term ends: 16 March 2027
- Chief Minister: Bhagwant Mann (AAP), since 16 March 2022
- Last election: single phase on 20 February 2022, counted on 10 March 2022
The 2022 verdict
In 2022 the Aam Aadmi Party swept Punjab, winning 92 seats and ending decades in which power had passed between the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Bhagwant Mann, then the party’s only Lok Sabha MP, was sworn in as Chief Minister at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh.
| Party | 2022 seats | 2017 seats |
|---|---|---|
| Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) | 92 | 20 |
| Indian National Congress | 18 | 77 |
| Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) | 3 | 15 |
| Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) | 2 | 3 |
| Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) | 1 | 0 |
| Independent | 1 | 0 |
| Lok Insaaf Party | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 117 | 117 |
Congress, which had governed from 2017, fell from 77 seats to 18. The SAD — contesting in alliance with the BSP after leaving the BJP-led NDA in 2020 over the farm laws — won three. The BJP, contesting separately from the Akalis for the first time in a quarter-century, won two.
By-elections since 2022 have changed the numbers in the house slightly. The table shows the general election result.
Punjab’s three regions
Punjab’s politics is usually read through its three historical regions, each with its own patterns:
| Region | Seats | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Malwa (south of the Sutlej) | 69 | Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Sangrur, Moga, Ferozepur |
| Majha (between the Beas and Ravi) | 25 | Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Pathankot |
| Doaba (between the Beas and Sutlej) | 23 | Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr |
With 69 of 117 seats, Malwa decides most Punjab elections. Doaba has the state’s highest share of Scheduled Caste voters, which is why parties focused on Dalit voters, including the BSP, have historically concentrated there.
The parties heading into 2027
- AAP is defending a government for the first time anywhere outside Delhi. Its record on its 2022 promises — including free electricity units for households and a monthly allowance for women — will be central to the campaign.
- Congress is the principal opposition in the assembly and won the largest number of Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats in 2024.
- The Shiromani Akali Dal, Punjab’s oldest regional party, is trying to recover from its weakest-ever assembly performance.
- The BJP has been building its own organisation in the state since the end of its alliance with the SAD.
Whether any of these parties contest in alliance in 2027 is not yet settled.
Getting ready to vote
Punjab is one of the 17 states and UTs in the current Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls. Draft rolls are published on 12 November 2026, claims and objections can be filed until 11 December, and the final roll comes out on 4 January 2027. Our step-by-step guide explains how to check your name and which form to use.
The Election Commission has also ordered the transfer of officers posted in their home districts or with three years or more in a district, a standard pre-election measure.
When will Punjab vote?
In 2022 Punjab voted in a single phase, about a month before the assembly’s term ended. The Commission can hold the poll at any time in the last six months of the term — from mid-September 2026 in Punjab’s case — so an early-2027 date is consistent with past practice. Punjab is likely to be grouped with Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, as it was in 2017 and 2022.
Beyond the state
- Punjab’s MLAs elect the state’s 7 Rajya Sabha members.
- In the presidential election due by July 2027, each Punjab MLA’s vote carries a value of 116, based on the 1971 Census population.
Follow updates in Punjab Election 2027 and, after counting, in Punjab Election Result.
