Chandigarh, April 24: The mass resignation of two-thirds of Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament has triggered a sharp political response from the Punjab BJP, with Working President Ashwani Sharma declaring on Friday that the unprecedented exodus exposes deep organisational fractures and points to an increasingly authoritarian style of governance under Arvind Kejriwal. The development is being seen as one of the most significant internal crises to hit AAP since its formation.

Sharma Calls It a Leadership Crisis for Kejriwal

Ashwani Sharma did not mince words, stating that the large-scale departures from the party's parliamentary ranks reveal the "deep cracks within AAP" and signal growing dissatisfaction with the way Kejriwal runs the organisation. He argued that when elected representatives at such a senior level choose to walk away, it is no longer a matter of individual grievance — it reflects a systemic failure at the top.

Sharma also turned his attention to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, dismissing him as a "puppet" who resorted to making "irrelevant statements" rather than addressing the core issues raised by the departing MPs. According to Sharma, this deflection is a pattern the party has repeatedly employed to avoid accountability.

Maliwal Insult and Raghav Chadha Controversy Resurface

The Punjab BJP leader also brought up two lingering controversies that have dogged the party — the alleged insult to Swati Maliwal, a former AAP ally and Delhi Commission for Women chairperson, and the political controversy surrounding Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha. Sharma insisted these are "serious issues that will not be forgotten easily by the people" and form part of a broader pattern of internal suppression within the party.

These incidents, critics argue, highlight a culture within AAP where dissent is not tolerated and individuals who raise uncomfortable questions are sidelined or publicly humiliated — a charge the party has consistently denied.

Punjab Under AAP: BJP's Charge of Deception and Misgovernance

Sharma further stated that for the past four and a half years, Punjab has been subjected to what he called "systematic deception" under the combined leadership of Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. He emphasised that voters in the state had cast their ballots with the hope of seeing Punjab governed by its own people — a promise that, according to him, has been thoroughly betrayed by a leadership structure that remains centralised in New Delhi.

This criticism directly references a long-standing allegation against AAP's Punjab model: that despite projecting Bhagwant Mann as the face of the government, real decision-making power rests with Kejriwal and a coterie of Delhi-based party insiders — a "remote control" arrangement that BJP leaders have repeatedly flagged.

Jakhar Welcomes Defectors, Predicts AAP's Collapse

Punjab BJP State President Sunil Jakhar welcomed the departing Rajya Sabha MPs into the Bharatiya Janata Party, calling their arrival a boost for the party in Punjab and predicting it would mark "the beginning of the decline of AAP" — which he described as one of the shortest-lived active political parties in the country's recent history.

In a message posted across social media platforms, Jakhar wrote: "A warm welcome to all the MPs who have left the sinking ship of AAP in time and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Due to poor governance, corruption, and lawlessness under AAP, the people of Punjab have become disillusioned with the party."

He added that even well-intentioned individuals within the party are now being "compelled to leave" because AAP has abandoned public interest in favour of factional politics and centralised control.

Gangsterism, Drugs, and Governance Failure: BJP's Ground-Level Critique

Jakhar painted a grim picture of Punjab under the current government, alleging that "lawlessness and corruption have reached their peak" and that ordinary citizens no longer feel safe. He specifically called out the twin crises of gangsterism and drug abuse, stating these twin menaces are consuming the state's youth at an alarming rate.

Notably, Punjab's drug problem has been a politically sensitive issue for decades, predating the AAP government. However, the BJP argues that AAP's failure to deliver on its signature promise of eliminating the drug trade — a central plank of its 2022 election campaign — makes the current government uniquely culpable for the crisis.

Jakhar also reiterated the "remote control" allegation, stating that the centralised power structure within AAP does not allow capable leaders within the party to function independently, ultimately harming both the organisation and the state it governs.

As AAP faces mounting pressure from within and outside, all eyes will now be on how Arvind Kejriwal responds to the defections — and whether the party can arrest its slide ahead of future electoral contests in Punjab and beyond. Political analysts suggest that the coming weeks will be critical in determining whether this exodus remains a manageable setback or signals the beginning of a deeper structural unravelling of the party.