Punjab: 3 AAP MLAs slam Mann govt after BJP crossover

In a major setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, three of its MLAs, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. The three leaders reached the BJP headquarters in Delhi for the formal induction. A video shared by news agency showed Pathanmajra and Jouramajra raising slogans of 'BJP zindabad' at the party office.

VIDEO | Delhi: MLAs Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh join BJP. Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon and Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva felicitate their induction into the party. All the three MLAs were formerly with the AAP. (Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)

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In a post on X, Kunwar Vijay Pratap said,"In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party is finished; Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann themselves have brought about its end. The Aam Aadmi Party, for all practical purposes, no longer exists. A 'double-engine' government will be formed in Punjab as well." 
The resignations came after the AAP released its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 assembly elections. The party, however, had not announced candidates for Sanaur, Amritsar North or Samana, the constituencies represented by Pathanmajra, Singh and Jouramajra respectively. Explaining his decision, Pathanmajra said the BJP, as a national party, could bring significant benefits to Punjab if it came to power in the state. He also pointed to 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 launched attacks on the party's 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 deliver on its promise of making Punjab drug-free.