Three Rebel AAP MLAs From Punjab Join BJP Ahead of 2027 Assembly Polls

Three Aam Aadmi Party MLAs from Punjab, all of whom had fallen out with the party leadership, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday, 2 November, at the BJP’s headquarters in New Delhi. The move comes as parties gear up for the state’s Assembly elections in 2027.

The three are:

• Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, MLA from Sanaur
• Chetan Singh Jouramajra, MLA from Samana and a former state health minister
• Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, MLA from Amritsar North

Pathanmajra and Jouramajra had been suspended by AAP for anti-party activities, while Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh had been under suspension since 29 June 2025. Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon welcomed them into the party. The Speaker of the Punjab Assembly has accepted their resignations, so their seats are now vacant.

What they said

The three MLAs attacked the Bhagwant Mann government over drugs, gangsterism and the state’s rising debt. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said AAP was finished in Punjab and blamed Arvind Kejriwal and Mann. Jouramajra claimed that some AAP ticket-holders could also move to the BJP.

Reactions

AAP leaders brushed off the defections as opportunistic, with Saurabh Bharadwaj dismissing the BJP’s new recruits and Aman Arora questioning the BJP’s base in Punjab. Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa called the switch a well-planned conspiracy, while SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal predicted that Mann would lose in 2027.

The exits came shortly after AAP announced its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 polls, which includes Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri.

Featured image: Seat diagram of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. Photo: Singh PreetManak, CC0 (source).

Sources

• Punjab AAP MLAs Harmeet Pathanmajra, Chetan Jouramajra, Kunwar Vijay Pratap join BJP – The Tribune
• Three rebel AAP MLAs join BJP in Punjab before 2027 polls – The NewsMill