3 min readSuratApr 26, 2026 04:30 AM IST
First published on: Apr 26, 2026 at 04:30 AM IST
GIVEN THE bitter experience of the past where half of the corporators who won on its ticket in the previous municipal corporation elections joined the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made all its candidates in Surat sign an undertaking that they would not switch over to any other political party if they won in the elections to be held on Sunday whose results will be declared on April 28.
State AAP spokesperson Yogesh Jadvani told The Indian Express on Saturday, “We have taken affidavits from all our 111 candidates that they will stick to the conditions of the party. The decision has been taken to ensure that no candidates should switch over to another political party. Those 13 AAP corporators who left AAP and joined BJP have been denied tickets by the BJP in the municipal elections. Now their political career is zero. This will also send a message to our candidates that if they wish to join another political party, they will not be well entertained.”
In the 2021 elections, AAP won 27 of 120 seats in the Surat Municipal Corporation to become the main Opposition in the civic body, while Congress did not win any. Over the five year term however, 13 of them joined the BJP while one was suspended for anti-party activities. The party did not repeat any of the remaining 13 corporators this time.
An AAP candidate who is in the poll fray in SMC, said on condition of anonymity, said, “I have also signed the affidavit which was kept secret, and it was read and translated (from English) by the AAP leader, before us, and we had to just sign it. I think this is also a good step taken by party higher-ups.”
Seen as a feat for AAP in Gujarat, the then Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal visited Surat and congratulated all the winners from his party.
In Sunday’s elections, of 120 seats spread across 30 wards of SMC, a total of 111 AAP candidates are in the poll fray, followed by 117 candidates from Congress and 120 candidates of BJP.
The party had collected signatures on the affidavits when the candidates were filing their nominations.
As per sources, the undertaking reads something like this: “I will be loyal to the party and work on its principles. I will not do any act or indulge in any activity which damages the image of the party. After being elected in the upcoming election I will not switch over to any of the other political party. If I violate any of the above-mentioned rules, I will accept or agree to any decision taken by the party against me”.
Gujarat AAP spokesperson Yogesh Jadvani 
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