Triple blow for AAP: Kunwar Vijay Pratap, Pathanmajra, Jouramajra switch to BJP ahead of Punjab polls

Three leaders who had broken with the Aam Aadmi Party joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday, a move that comes months before Punjab goes to the polls in 2027. They are Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra.

Pathanmajra represents Sanaur and Jouramajra represents Samana, both in Patiala district. AAP had suspended the two MLAs for alleged anti-party activities.

As per the reports of ANI, they quit the party on Sunday, a day after AAP released its first list of candidates. Neither of their names was on the list.

Kunwar Vijay Pratap, a former IPS officer, is the MLA from Amritsar North. AAP suspended him on 29 June 2025. He had repeatedly criticised the Punjab government, including over the lack of action against those responsible for the 2015 sacrilege incidents.

On Monday he resigned from the Punjab Assembly, becoming the third AAP legislator to leave in two days.

What Kunwar Vijay Pratap said

In a post on X, he addressed to the people of Amritsar, saying that he would stay indebted to them for their love and respect until his last breath. He called for politics to rise above what he described as the "politics of lanes and ribbon-cutting" and said Punjab was trapped by drugs, extortion, gangsterism and corruption. He said he would work with the public on a forward strategy aimed at clean politics and transparent administration, and that his sole purpose was "Punjab First".

AAP's response

AAP has said it will petition the Assembly Speaker to disqualify Pathanmajra and Jouramajra from the House. The two resigned from the party, not from the Assembly, which is why the disqualification question has come up. The party has described action against dissenting MLAs as a matter of discipline.

Reports before Monday's inductions said neither Pathanmajra nor Jouramajra looked likely to be renominated. AAP had also named new in-charges for the Sanaur and Samana constituencies.

AAP announced its first list of 40 candidates on Saturday. It includes Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura, and Sanjeev Arora, who is currently in jail, from Ludhiana West. Ministers named include Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (Ajnala), Balkar Singh (Kartarpur), Jai Krishan Singh Rouri (Garhshankar), Kulwant Singh (S A S Nagar) and Labh Singh Ugoke (Bhadaur).