Blow to AAP in Punjab as three MLAs join BJP ahead of 2027 Assembly polls

Three Punjab AAP MLAs join the BJP in Delhi ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.

Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs from Punjab, including former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at its headquarters in Delhi on Monday, days after two of them resigned from the ruling party ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The other two are Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who represents Sanaur, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, the MLA from Samana. The leaders joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders.

The BJP joining came after a series of resignations in the AAP's Punjab unit. Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra announced their departure from the party on Sunday. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh announced his resignation from the Punjab Assembly on Monday morning.

In a Facebook post, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh shared a copy of his resignation letter addressed to Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. He said he had relinquished his membership of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and expressed gratitude to the people of Amritsar North for their support. In his letter, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said his objective was to work towards clean politics and transparent administration, adding that his priority was to rebuild Punjab. He also claimed to have completed 90 per cent of the work he had set out to accomplish as an MLA.

The departures come shortly after the AAP announced its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The party had not named candidates for Samana and Sanaur, the constituencies represented by Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, respectively. It had, however, appointed new constituency in-charges for both seats, fuelling speculation about possible changes in its electoral choices.

After quitting the AAP, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra accused the party's Delhi leadership, particularly national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his close aide Bibhav Kumar, of interfering in Punjab's governance. They also criticised the state government over alleged corruption, deteriorating law and order, extortion, gang violence and its failure to fulfil the promise of making Punjab drug-free.

Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra said Punjab could benefit from the BJP if it came to power in the state. He also referred to the party's commitment to tackling the drug problem and expressed hope that a BJP government would address Punjab's financial difficulties and farmers' concerns. The AAP had suspended Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra over alleged anti-party activities. Following their resignations, the party approached the Punjab Assembly Speaker seeking cancellation of their membership of the House.

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, meanwhile, had been suspended from the AAP for five years in June 2025. A former IPS officer, he joined the party ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections and won the Amritsar North constituency. During his police career, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh headed a special investigation team probing the 2015 sacrilege-related incidents and police firing in Faridkot, in which two protesters were killed.