Three Punjab legislators who recently resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party's headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, 2 November 2026, dealing a significant blow to the ruling AAP government just months ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The defections deepen an internal crisis for a party already grappling with political headwinds in its last major state stronghold.

Who the three MLAs are

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, a former IPS officer representing the Amritsar North Assembly constituency, resigned from the AAP's primary membership on Monday and simultaneously sent his resignation letter to the Punjab Assembly Speaker. Singh had been suspended by the AAP for five years in June 2025 for alleged anti-party activities after he opposed the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a Disproportionate Assets case.

The other two MLAs — Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra of the Sanour constituency in Patiala district, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra of Samana constituency — had resigned from the AAP's primary membership and the Assembly on Sunday, 1 November 2026, a day before joining the BJP.

What triggered the exits

Singh, posting on X, cited a desire to move beyond what he called 'the politics of lanes and ribbon-cutting', pledging to work towards rescuing Punjab from 'drugs, extortion, gangsterism, and corruption'. He said his 'sole purpose is Punjab First' and asserted that he had achieved '90 per cent of his targets' as an MLA. On Sunday, he had publicly attacked AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alleging the party had abandoned its founding ideals.

Jouramajra, a former minister in the Punjab government, reportedly grew disenchanted after the AAP high command appointed former senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Surjit Singh Rakhra as in-charge of the Samana Assembly constituency — effectively installing a rival authority in his own seat. The move was widely viewed as a demotion, according to media reports.

Pathanmajra's exit is more legally fraught. A rape case was registered against the first-time legislator from Sanour by the Punjab Police on 1 September 2025, on charges of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation. He had allegedly evaded arrest by fleeing to Australia before eventually returning to India and being taken into custody. He was subsequently released and is now facing trial.

Political weight of the defections

The timing is critical. The 2027 Punjab Assembly elections are only months away, and AAP is the ruling party in the state with a commanding majority it won in 2022. Historically, pre-election defections in Punjab have signalled fractures that opposition parties exploit during the campaign. This is not the first sign of internal trouble for AAP in Punjab — dissent over governance, candidate selection, and the party's centralised command structure has reportedly simmered for over a year.

Notably, Jouramajra had earlier been a prominent face of the AAP government in Punjab before his relationship with the leadership soured. The BJP, which was decimated in the 2022 Punjab polls, will hope the new entrants bring organisational networks and local credibility it currently lacks in these constituencies.

What happens next

With the three MLAs now having resigned from the Assembly, bypolls in Amritsar North, Sanour, and Samana constituencies are expected to be called by the Election Commission of India (ECI). These contests will serve as early bellwethers for the 2027 state election mood. AAP's ability to hold or contest these seats will be an immediate test of its Punjab cadre's resilience.