Once bitten, twice shy AAP is leaving no stone unturned to win an Assembly bypoll in Punjab that is yet to be declared.

Top national leaders of the party are camping in Ludhiana West where a sitting MP has been fielded for the bypoll expected to be conducted next month.

An AAP source explained that the party's heightened interest in the bypoll has been triggered by its rout in Delhi in February and fears that any signs of weakness in Punjab could lead to an exodus of its MLAs.

"A loss could lead to our MLAs warming up to the Congress, which has been trying to woo them. We did badly in Punjab in the Lok Sabha polls and lost the Delhi Assembly polls. Here, (chief minister) Bhagwant Mann's relevance and prestige are at stake.”

In February, a month after the previous MLA, AAP's Gurpreet Gogi, "accidentally" shot and killed himself, the party declared its Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as the candidate for the seat.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal has regularly visited Punjab and is monitoring the campaign. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former minister Satyendar Jain, who were in jail with Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, are camping in Ludhiana now. At least seven Punjab ministers have been given ward-level responsibilities.

"There is a loss of trust in our MLAs due to allegations of corruption. Our volunteers are also disgruntled due to the high-handedness of the national leadership. Arvind has to micro-manage this because a loss now would make people lose faith in us," the source said.

The Mann government's crackdown on protesting farmers was seen as an attempt to consolidate the party's support among the trading community, which wields considerable clout in Ludhiana and is upset with the increased aggressiveness of the farmer unions. An AAP strategist, however, told this paper that the feedback within the party is that the police action was perceived in Punjab as overkill.

The party is now focusing on the drug menace as a campaign. As part of its "Yudh Nashe Ke Virudh (War against drugs)" campaign, Kejriwal accompanied Mann in flagging off a National Cadet Corps rally against drugs on Wednesday. Last month, the Punjab government demolished properties of suspected drug dealers — taking a cue from the BJP-ruled states.

The Congress and the BJP have accused the AAP of misusing state machinery for the campaign. The model code of conduct applies after polls are declared.

"A win would revive the careers of Delhi leaders like Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia who will take credit for the campaign. It would strengthen the case for a Delhi-based leader to be sent to the Rajya Sabha in place of Sanjeev Arora," the AAP strategist said.