Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, alongside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Saturday, 13 June met traders, shopkeepers, and business owners at a session of the Punjab State Traders Commission (PSTC) in Jalandhar, pledging to address the trading community's concerns through sustained dialogue and responsive governance.

What Was Said at the PSTC Meeting

Kejriwal described small traders as the backbone of Punjab's economy, arguing that successive governments had ignored them or subjected them to harassment and extortion. He said the Mann government had ended those practices and created the PSTC specifically to ensure even minor grievances of the trading community are resolved promptly.

Notably, Kejriwal recalled his own childhood connection to small trade — spending summer holidays at his grandfather's home in Siwani village, where his family ran a grocery shop at the bus stand. He said that experience taught him early that the system rarely listened to small traders, even as governments focused on large industrialists and investments worth hundreds or thousands of crores.

Mann Government's Four-Year Record

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said Punjab had broken free from decades of exploitation and misgovernance, ushering in what he described as an era of transparent, development-driven governance. He pointed to the government's work on irrigation, employment, public services, and infrastructure as evidence of transformation across the state.

Kejriwal added that completing four years in office while still being able to sit face-to-face with citizens for open discussions was, in his view, historically unusual for Punjab. He contrasted the current reception with that of earlier governments — led by the Indian National Congress (Congress), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Akali Dal — whose leaders, he claimed, were unwelcome in villages after four years in power.

Political Signalling Ahead of Next Election

The meeting carries clear pre-election undertones. Kejriwal cited a roadshow in Bathinda following strong Municipal Corporation results as evidence of public goodwill, saying traders came out of their shops to welcome AAP leaders. He described a similar mood in Jalandhar, arguing that sustained public approval after four years in government was 'something extraordinary' in Punjab's political history.

The PSTC itself — established under the Mann administration — is being positioned as a structural mechanism for trader outreach, distinguishing AAP's approach from what the party characterises as the transactional politics of its predecessors.

What Comes Next

No specific policy announcements or timelines were detailed at the Jalandhar session, but Kejriwal's assurance of continued dialogue through the PSTC signals that trader engagement will remain a visible plank of AAP's governance narrative as Punjab approaches its next electoral cycle.