Sanjeev Arora's rapid rise reshaped power equations in Mann govt

In less than a year after being sworn in as a minister, Sanjeev Arora emerged as a powerful cog in the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab and took on many key portfolios, including industries and power. During the bypoll campaign for the Ludhiana West assembly seat, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal stated that Arora would be appointed as a minister if elected as a legislator.

In less than a year after being sworn in as a minister, Sanjeev Arora emerged as a powerful cog in the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab and took on many key portfolios, including industries and power. Arora holds the portfolios of industries and commerce, investment promotion, power and local government. The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested Arora in connection with a new money laundering case involving him and several entities allegedly linked to him, officials said. According to officials, Arora was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following early morning raids at his official residence in Chandigarh. They noted that he was ''non-cooperative'' during the investigation and will be brought to Delhi. Arora's official residence in Chandigarh was among the five premises raided across north India. The raids also covered two premises in Delhi and that of a company named Hampton Sky Realty Ltd in Gurugram's Udyog Vihar. On April 17, the ED had raided Arora and his linked entities under the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Arora emerged as a key leader of AAP in Punjab and enjoyed close proximity with the party's central leadership. In June 2025, the AAP retained the Ludhiana West assembly seat, with Arora winning a fierce electoral battle against his nearest rival, Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu, by a margin of 10,637 votes. This bypoll was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January of the previous year. Before this election, Arora was serving as a Rajya Sabha MP when the party leadership selected him to contest the assembly bypoll. At 62, Arora is a prominent Hindu voice for the AAP in Punjab and a Ludhiana-based industrialist. He also runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust. The businessman-turned-politician first became a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab in 2022, and after winning the Ludhiana bypoll in June last year, he resigned from the Rajya Sabha. During the bypoll campaign for the Ludhiana West assembly seat, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal stated that Arora would be appointed as a minister if elected as a legislator. In March 2026, as industries minister, Arora played a crucial role in the Progressive Punjab Investors' Summit 2026, held in Mohali to showcase investment opportunities in the state. Arora then said the summit highlighted Punjab as a major investment destination, especially after the launch of the state's new Industrial and Business Development Policy. He maintained that industrialists have responded positively to the investor-friendly policy framework introduced by the state government. Ahead of the summer season, the power minister had said there would be no power shortage in Punjab from May 1 with the state government making comprehensive preparations to tackle a sharp surge in electricity demand. The AAP government, in October last year, launched the state's ambitious 'Roshan Punjab' project, a Rs 5,000-crore initiative that aims to modernise Punjab's entire power transmission and distribution network, making zero power cut, round-the-clock free electricity a reality for every household within a year.