AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal arrived in Punjab on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Ludhiana, where the party is expected to discuss organisational matters, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and strategy for the 2027 Assembly elections amid the backdrop of a spat between senior party leaders a day earlier.

Kejriwal landed at Halwara airport in the morning and was received by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

An AAP spokesperson said Kejriwal would hold a series of meetings with party leaders during his stay. “He will stay put in Ludhiana for two days and meet leaders. He already held several rounds of meetings on Wednesday,” the spokesperson said. Mann is also likely to remain in Ludhiana during Kejriwal’s visit and is staying at a hotel in the city.

Kejriwal’s visit assumes significance following a verbal spat between AAP Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia and Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian after the party’s meeting on the SIR exercise in Ludhiana on Tuesday.

Sources said Khuddian was upset after his supporters were denied AAP tickets for the Bathinda Municipal Corporation elections. According to party insiders, several candidates fielded by the party in Bathinda were former Congress leaders, which further irked the minister.

“He was rooting for his supporter but did not succeed in getting a ticket for him. All this started after the meeting on SIR got over. A few MLAs and leaders were still inside the meeting hall. Khuddian raised an objection with Sisodia, who in turn asked the minister to raise the issue at some later stage,” a source said.

The source added that Khuddian continued voicing his objections and allegedly questioned MLAs over their silence before the Delhi leadership despite privately expressing resentment earlier. “The matter took a serious turn. It was after the intervention of Amargarh MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra that the verbal spat ended,” the source added.

Before the episode involving Khuddian, Bathinda MLA Jagrup Singh Gill had publicly expressed dissatisfaction over the selection of candidates for the municipal elections and announced the withdrawal of his nephew’s candidature in a video message.

Khuddian was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts. Punjab AAP president Aman Arora also could not be contacted.

Former AAP Punjab working president and Budhlada MLA Budh Ram said he was not present at Tuesday’s meeting. “I am very busy with my constituency going to municipal elections on May 26. I do not know what happened in the meeting. I have not been able to speak to anyone yet,” he said.

AAP general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat denied knowledge of any confrontation. “Nothing happened in the meeting yesterday. I was there. However, I got out after it got over. In case something happened after I left, then I am not aware,” he said.

Barsat added that Kejriwal routinely holds meetings whenever he visits Punjab. “Whenever he is in Punjab, he holds meetings. What is the big deal about it?” he said.

Another MLA said Wednesday’s discussions were also centred on the SIR exercise. “Yesterday’s meeting was on SIR. Kejriwal will also be holding a meeting on SIR. We are trying to make sense of this whole practice. We do not want to face a similar fate as West Bengal, Bihar and Delhi after SIR. We are cautious. Our top leadership is taking it seriously,” the MLA said.