Politics

Three AAP MLAs Switch to BJP Ahead of 2027 Punjab Assembly Elections

By HT News Desk

Three legislators of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh – joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, a development that comes as AAP releases its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. Pathanmajra, the MLA from Sanaur, and Jouramajra, the former cabinet minister and MLA from Samana, resigned from AAP on Sunday. Singh tendered his resignation on Monday morning. The resignations followed AAP’s announcement of its candidate list, which did not include candidates for Sanaur or Samana. Pathanmajra submitted his resignation to AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, citing the BJP’s national stature and its commitment to eliminating drugs as reasons for his move. He also criticized AAP’s Delhi‑based leadership, accusing Kejriwal and aide Bibhav Kumar of interfering in Punjab governance and highlighted alleged corruption, rising crime and failure to deliver on a drug‑free promise. Jouramajra announced his resignation via a social media post and similarly attacked the party’s leadership. After their suspension from AAP for alleged anti‑party activities, both leaders resigned. Singh, an IPS officer who headed the Special Investigation Team probing the 2015 post‑sacred‑site police firing that killed two Sikh protesters, shared a copy of his resignation to Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Facebook. He expressed gratitude for the support he received and pledged to remain indebted to the people of Punjab. Singh had been suspended from AAP for five years in June for dissenting views. The AAP has requested the Speaker to cancel the assembly membership of Pathanmajra and Jouramajra. The three leaders arrived at the BJP headquarters in Delhi and raised slogans of “BJP Zindabad” before officially joining the party.