The Aam Aadmi Party has appointed former Akali minister Surjit Singh Rakhra as its halqa incharge for Samana, ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The party has also appointed Balvir Singh as halqa incharge for Shahkot.Samana is currently represented by AAP MLA Chetan Singh Jouramajra. Rakhra’s appointment has triggered speculation about whether he could be the party’s candidate from the constituency in the 2027 Assembly elections. The appointment, however, does not by itself indicate the party’s final candidate selection.Rakhra has an established political base in Samana and was a prominent Shiromani Akali Dal leader. He served as Revenue and Rehabilitation Minister in the Parkash Singh Badal government. He remained with the SAD until August 2022 and subsequently distanced himself from the party amid differences with Sukhbir Singh Badal. He later joined the breakaway Akali faction SAD (Punar Surjit).AAP inducted Rakhra into the party in May this year in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The faction he had joined, SAD (Punar Surjit), expelled him in May 2026, according to reports.Jouramajra, who was elected from Samana in 2022, served as Health Minister before being divested of the portfolio following the controversy involving Baba Farid University Vice-Chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur. Jouramajra was subsequently given the Information and Public Relations, Mining and Horticulture portfolios. He was among four ministers dropped from the Mann Cabinet in the September 2024 reshuffle.He has also faced criticism over his conduct as an MLA, including in connection with an incident involving teachers in 2025.Shahkot, meanwhile, is represented by Congress MLA Hardev Singh Laddi. AAP has appointed Balvir Singh as the party’s halqa incharge for the constituency.Rakhra’s appointment makes Samana the fourth Assembly constituency currently represented by an AAP MLA to get a new halqa incharge. Earlier, the party appointed Parminder Singh Goldy in Kharar, Jasvir Singh Garhi in Chamkaur Sahib and Gopal Singh in Bathinda Rural.Kharar is represented by AAP MLA Anmol Gagan Maan, Chamkaur Sahib by Dr Charanjit Singh and Bathinda Rural by Amit Rattan Kotfatta.The appointments have raised questions about the political future of the sitting AAP MLAs in these constituencies. AAP has also appointed halqa incharges in several constituencies represented by Opposition MLAs, including Phagwara, Phillaur, Nawanshahr, Qadian, Sujanpur and Mukerian.In Phagwara, Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal has been appointed halqa incharge; Harjot Kaur Lohtia in Phillaur; Robby Kang in Nawanshahr; Guriqbal Singh Mahal in Qadian; Swaran Singh Salaria in Sujanpur; and Rohit Syakl in Pathankot. Sarabjot Singh Saabi has been appointed halqa incharge for Mukerian.A senior party functionary, requesting anonymity, said those appointed halqa incharges had been asked to start working for the party on the ground.The appointments come as AAP steps up preparations for the Punjab Assembly elections. The party’s newly constituted Political Affairs Committee held its first meeting in Delhi today, with electoral preparations in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat among the issues discussed.