Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh quits AAP; 3rd Punjab MLA to resign in 2 days
Synopsis
Three AAP MLAs have resigned in two days in Punjab, with former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh the latest to go. Coming less than two years before the 2027 state elections, the cascade of exits — each citing leadership failures — points to a deepening rift inside India's second-largest AAP-governed state.
Key Takeaways
Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh , MLA from Amritsar North , resigned from the AAP on 2 November 2026 , the third Punjab MLA to do so in two days.
Singh, a former IPS officer , was suspended by AAP for five years in June 2025 for opposing the arrest of SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia .
On the day before his resignation, Singh publicly attacked Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann , accusing the party of abandoning its founding ideals.
Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra (Sanour) and Chetan Singh Jouramajra (Samana) resigned from AAP's primary membership and the Assembly on 1 November 2026 .
Jouramajra's exit was reportedly triggered by the AAP high command appointing Surjit Singh Rakhra as in-charge of his own constituency.
The resignations come ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections , raising questions about AAP's hold on the state.
Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday, 2 November 2026, becoming the third Punjab lawmaker to exit the ruling party in just two days. Singh, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, also submitted his resignation letter to the Punjab Assembly Speaker, signalling a significant escalation in the internal crisis gripping the state's ruling party ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Singh's Departure and What He Said
Sharing the news of his resignation on social media platform X, Singh struck a populist tone, saying he would remain 'indebted to you until my last breath for the love and respect you have shown me', addressing the people of Punjab. He claimed to have achieved '90 per cent of his targets' and described his greatest achievement as 'ending the mai-baap culture in politics and working by considering the public as my source of inspiration.'
Singh also outlined a forward agenda, saying his 'sole purpose is Punjab First' and pledging to work toward 'clean politics and transparent administration.' He listed constituency-specific interventions — from water and sewage issues to the Bargari sacrilege case and institutions such as Guru Nanak Dev University and Government Medical College — as hallmarks of his tenure.
Notably, on the day before his resignation, Singh had openly attacked AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, asserting that the party had strayed from its founding ideals. This public broadside set the stage for his formal exit the following day.
The Backstory: Suspension and Dissent
Singh's break with the AAP did not happen overnight. The party had suspended him for five years in June 2025 over alleged anti-party activities, after he opposed the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a Disproportionate Assets case. His suspension effectively placed him on a collision course with the party leadership months before his formal resignation.
The Two MLAs Who Resigned on Sunday
Singh's exit follows the resignations of Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who represents the Sanour Assembly constituency in Patiala district, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who represents Samana Assembly constituency and has previously served as a minister in the Punjab government. Both submitted their resignations from AAP's primary membership and the Assembly on Sunday, 1 November 2026.
Pathanmajra sent his resignation letter directly to Kejriwal, announcing his decision to quit with immediate effect. He has faced several controversies, including a rape case that was registered against him, following which he travelled to Australia before returning to India and being arrested by police pending investigation.
Jouramajra's grievance, according to media reports, centred on the AAP high command appointing former senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Surjit Singh Rakhra as in-charge of his own Samana constituency — a move widely seen as a direct snub to his political standing and influence in the area.
What This Means for AAP in Punjab
The triple resignation is a significant blow to the AAP government in Punjab, which holds a commanding majority but is now confronting visible internal fractures. This comes amid growing criticism of the party's governance on issues of drugs, extortion, and gangsterism — themes Singh himself invoked in his farewell statement. The AAP's trajectory in Punjab will be closely watched as the state moves closer to the 2027 Assembly elections, with disgruntled legislators potentially becoming a rallying point for opposition parties, including the SAD, the BJP, and the Congress. Whether more defections follow will be the defining question in the weeks ahead.
Point of View
And one that the AAP cannot explain away as individual dissent. Singh's five-year suspension in 2025 was meant to silence internal opposition; instead, it appears to have hardened it. The Jouramajra case is particularly telling: appointing an outsider as constituency in-charge in a sitting MLA's own seat is the kind of high-command overreach that historically accelerates defections in Indian parties. With the 2027 Punjab elections approaching, the AAP risks a repeat of what happened to the Congress in Punjab — a majority government hollowed out from within, long before the voters delivered their verdict.
NationPress
2 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh resign from the AAP?
Singh resigned from the AAP on 2 November 2026, citing his commitment to clean politics and a Punjab-first agenda. He had already been suspended by the party for five years in June 2025 for allegedly opposing the arrest of SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, and on the eve of his resignation he publicly criticised party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for straying from AAP's founding principles.
Which other AAP MLAs resigned alongside or before Singh?
Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, representing the Sanour constituency in Patiala district, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, representing the Samana constituency and a former minister in the Punjab government, both resigned from AAP's primary membership and the Punjab Assembly on Sunday, 1 November 2026 — a day before Singh's resignation.
What triggered Chetan Singh Jouramajra's resignation?
According to media reports, Jouramajra was unhappy after the AAP high command appointed former SAD leader Surjit Singh Rakhra as the in-charge of his own Samana Assembly constituency. The move was widely seen as a political snub that undermined his standing in the area he represents.
How does this affect the AAP government in Punjab?
AAP holds a large majority in the Punjab Assembly, so three resignations do not immediately threaten its government. However, the exits signal significant internal discontent, particularly with the party's leadership style and high-command decisions, at a time when Punjab is heading toward the 2027 Assembly elections.
What is the background of Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh?
Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh is a former IPS officer who represents the Amritsar North constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He gained national attention during his tenure as a senior police officer and won the seat on an AAP ticket. He was suspended from the party in June 2025 for alleged anti-party activities.
