A political grenade landed in Punjab's pre-election atmosphere on Thursday, 22 October 2026, when AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the Indian National Congress had made a sweeping public declaration: if Congress forms the next government in Punjab, it will scrap both free electricity and the cash transfer scheme for women. Kejriwal posted the charge in both Punjabi and Hindi, writing: 'ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀਆਂ ਚੋਣਾ ਲਈ ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਦਾ ਬਹੁਤ ਵੱਡਾ ਐਲਾਨ' ('Congress party's very big announcement for Punjab elections') — framing the alleged promise as a self-inflicted wound by the opposition. The post specifically named two benefits: free electricity for households and the Mahila Sanman Rashi, a cash-transfer programme for women.

What's Actually at Stake for Punjab Households

These are not abstract policy arguments — they hit kitchen tables directly. AAP's 2022 Punjab election manifesto promised up to 300 units of free electricity per month to every household in the state, a model the party first piloted in Delhi as early as 2015. The scheme has since become one of AAP's most visible electoral signatures. The Mahila Sanman Rashi — a direct cash transfer to women — has similarly been positioned as a flagship benefit for female voters in Punjab. If Kejriwal's characterisation of the Congress statement is accurate, it would represent an unusually candid pre-election commitment to roll back popular entitlements — a rare move in Indian electoral politics, where parties almost universally promise to expand, not shrink, welfare.

The AAP-Congress Rivalry in Punjab Since 2022

AAP swept Punjab in March 2022, decimating a Congress government that had held the state for five years. Since then, the two parties have traded accusations over the sustainability and fairness of subsidy programmes. Congress has at various points questioned whether AAP's free-power promise strains the state's finances; AAP has responded by pointing to delivery on the ground. This latest salvo from Kejriwal turns that argument on its head — casting Congress not as a fiscal hawk but as a party willing to take benefits away from ordinary voters. The post arrives as Punjab's next assembly elections — due in 2027 — begin to cast a long shadow over daily political discourse. Parties are already staking out positions, and welfare schemes have emerged as the central battlefield.

Why the Framing Matters as Much as the Claim

Kejriwal did not merely report an opponent's policy stance — he packaged it as a 'bahut bada elaan' ('very big announcement'), a phrase that carries ironic weight. The implication is that Congress has accidentally handed AAP its next campaign poster. Whether Congress actually made such a statement in those terms, or whether the claim will stand up to scrutiny, is now the live question. No formal clarification or retraction from Congress was on record at the time of publication. For Punjab's millions of free-electricity beneficiaries and women receiving the sanman rashi, the electoral choice Kejriwal is drawing could not be starker — and that sharpness is entirely deliberate.