Major setback for AAP in Punjab ahead of Assembly polls; three MLAs join BJP

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has suffered a major setback in Punjab, with just three months remaining for the Assembly elections. Three rebel MLAs have joined the BJP. They are Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Chetan Singh Jouramajra and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh.

The three leaders joined the BJP at the party's headquarters in New Delhi. Videos of them raising slogans of "BJP Zindabad" at the event have also surfaced. Pathanmajra and Jouramajra resigned from AAP's primary membership on Sunday, while Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who represents the Amritsar North constituency, joined the BJP on Monday after resigning as an MLA.

The leaders quit AAP, accusing the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of failing to tackle the drug mafia, rising state debt and administrative failures. Former minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra also criticised the government over its handling of the drug problem and its failure to fulfil promises made to farmers.

Pathanmajra alleged that AAP leaders in Delhi were controlling the Punjab government and that state ministers were not free to take independent decisions, even on official files. He had earlier been suspended from the party over alleged anti-party activities.

Meanwhile, AAP leaders said they would approach the Assembly Speaker seeking the disqualification of the three MLAs following their resignations. AAP leader Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal took a swipe at the BJP, saying the party had turned into a scrap shop by welcoming leaders expelled from other parties and those who had resigned from their organisations.

The rebel leaders, however, said they had decided to join the BJP because they believed it was committed to protecting Punjab's interests. The political developments come days after AAP released its first list of 40 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections on Saturday. Pathanmajra and Jouramajra were not included in the list, adding to the significance of their decision to leave the party.