Three AAP MLAs join BJP ahead of 2027 Punjab assembly elections

Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including two sitting legislators, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, dealing a setback to the ruling party in Punjab ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh formally joined the BJP at its headquarters in New Delhi. The leaders were seen raising slogans of "BJP Zindabad" ahead of their induction.

While Pathanmajra and Jouramajra resigned from the AAP on Sunday, November 1, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh resigned from the Punjab Legislative Assembly on Monday morning. Singh, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, had already been suspended from the AAP for five years in June 2025.

The development came a day after the AAP released its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. The party had not announced candidates for Sanaur and Samana, represented by Pathanmajra and Jouramajra, respectively.

AAP leaders accuse Delhi leadership of interference

Pathanmajra, the MLA from Sanaur, submitted his resignation to AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, quitting the party with immediate effect. Former cabinet minister and Samana MLA Jouramajra also announced his resignation through a social media post.

Explaining his decision, Pathanmajra said the BJP, being a national party, could bring significant benefits to Punjab if it came to power in the state. He also cited the party's commitment to eliminating drugs, referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent announcement on the issue.

After quitting the AAP, both leaders criticised the party leadership, alleging that its Delhi-based leaders, particularly Kejriwal and his close aide Bibhav Kumar, were interfering in Punjab's governance.

They also accused the state government of failing on several fronts, citing alleged corruption, rising crime, snatching incidents, extortion, gang violence and murders. They further questioned the government's failure to fulfil its promise of making Punjab drug-free.

The resignations also came amid speculation over the two legislators' chances of securing AAP tickets for the next assembly elections. The party had recently appointed new constituency in-charges in both segments, with Ranjodh Hadana given responsibility for Sanaur and former Shiromani Akali Dal minister Surjit Singh Rakhra appointed in-charge of Samana.

Pathanmajra's relationship with the AAP leadership had deteriorated following his criticism of the state government's handling of floods in his constituency. He was also embroiled in a rape case and had been arrested in Gwalior after escaping during a police operation. The Punjab and Haryana High Court subsequently granted him bail.

Jouramajra, meanwhile, had served as a cabinet minister in the Bhagwant Mann government before being dropped during a cabinet reshuffle in September 2024.

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh resigns from Assembly

Sharing a copy of his resignation submitted to Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Facebook, Singh announced that he had quit the membership of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

"I have resigned from the membership of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. I will remain indebted to you until my last breath for the love and respect you have given me," he wrote.

The former IPS officer is known for his dissenting views within the AAP. He headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that investigated the 2015 post-sacrilege police firing incidents in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, in which two Sikh protesters were killed.

Singh had joined the AAP ahead of the 2022 Punjab assembly elections in the presence of Kejriwal. He was suspended from the party for five years in June 2025 over alleged anti-party activities, following his criticism of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau's action against Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia and his repeated questions over the government's handling of sacrilege cases.

In his resignation message, Singh called for a collective effort to rebuild Punjab, which he said was struggling with drugs, extortion, gang culture and corruption.

"With your cooperation and God's blessings, rising above the politics of streets, drains, and ribbon-cutting, we all must make a united effort to rebuild Punjab, currently trapped in the grips of drugs, extortion, gang culture, and corruption, into a progressive and leading state once again," he wrote.

He added that his objective going forward would be to work towards clean politics and transparent administration.

"Moving forward, formulating a strategy together with you to ensure clean politics and a transparent administration will be my objective. My sole purpose is 'Punjab First'. Other than that, I have no personal self-interest," he added.

AAP seeks cancellation of legislators' membership

Following the resignations, the AAP approached the Punjab Assembly Speaker, seeking the cancellation of the legislative membership of Pathanmajra and Jouramajra. The party said both leaders had already been suspended over alleged anti-party activities.

Punjab AAP president Aman Arora accused the BJP of inducting leaders who had been expelled or sidelined by the party. He also referred to the allegations against Pathanmajra and said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had sent him to jail.

AAP chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal also criticised the BJP, describing it as a "kabaad ki dukaan" (scrap shop) for inducting leaders facing allegations or rejected by other parties.

BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu, meanwhile, took a swipe at the AAP in a social media post, saying, "The picture has just begun," hinting at the possibility of further political developments within the ruling party.