Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reacted strongly, calling the ED move politically motivated. "Democracy is being strangled," Mann said, alleging that central agencies were being used to target non-BJP governments. He further stated that the BJP was "preparing for 2027 elections through ED," asserting that such actions would not intimidate the state government.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal echoed the charge, accusing the Centre of using investigative agencies as instruments of political pressure. In his response, Kejriwal said the action reflected a pattern seen in states governed by opposition parties, where agencies are deployed to "threaten and destabilise elected governments."

The ED action is part of an ongoing probe into alleged financial irregularities and land related violations linked to entities associated with Arora. While details of the case are still emerging, the development has provided ammunition to the BJP to question AAP's governance record.

BJP leaders maintained that the investigation was a routine legal process and rejected allegations of political vendetta. Party representatives said that "no one is above the law" and questioned the AAP's aggressive response, arguing that such reactions raise doubts rather than dispel them.

The Shiromani Akali Dal also sharpened its attack. Senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia accused AAP of hypocrisy, stating that the party criticises central agencies while simultaneously using state machinery against its opponents. He alleged that AAP's claims of transparency were being undermined by emerging developments. Parallel to the ED action, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has continued its investigations into cases linked to previous governments, including matters involving former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The Mann government has defended these probes as part of its anti-corruption agenda, maintaining that past irregularities are being systematically examined.

Opposition parties, however, have questioned the timing and intent of these Vigilance cases. Congress leaders argued that the state government was selectively targeting rivals to counter the pressure arising from central investigations. Senior Congress leader Pargat Singh described the situation as a "staged drama," alleging that both the Centre and the AAP government were using probe agencies for political positioning.

The developments have effectively created parallel narratives in Punjab's politics. The BJP has projected the ED action as evidence of corruption within AAP, while the ruling party has framed it as an attempt by the Centre to interfere in state politics. At the same time, AAP has positioned Vigilance action as a crackdown on past corruption, a claim dismissed by the opposition as selective enforcement.

Significantly, Mann's remarks linking the ED action to the 2027 Assembly elections have reinforced the perception that Punjab has entered an early election phase. With probe agencies at the centre of political discourse, governance issues are being overshadowed by a sustained exchange of allegations.

As both central and state agencies remain active, Punjab's political arena is increasingly defined by investigation-driven narratives, with each development quickly turning into a point of political contest.