In a significant blow to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, two sitting legislators — Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra — resigned from the party's primary membership and the Punjab Legislative Assembly on Sunday, 1 November 2026. The twin exits come less than 15 months before the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, deepening internal stress within a party that swept to power in the state in 2022.

Pathanmajra's Resignation and Legal Troubles

Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who represents the Sanour Assembly constituency in Patiala district, addressed his resignation letter directly to AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. 'I hereby submit my resignation from primary membership of Aam Aadmi Party with immediate effect,' he wrote. The 50-year-old first-time legislator has been mired in serious legal controversy: the Punjab Police registered a case against him on 1 September 2025 on charges of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation.

According to reports, Pathanmajra allegedly fled from a relative's house in Dabri village, Karnal, on 2 September 2025, minutes before a Punjab Police team arrived to detain him. He subsequently travelled to Australia and was arrested only after returning to India to participate in the investigation. His resignation follows what has been described as a dramatic period of evading arrest.

Jouramajra's Exit Over Internal Discontent

Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who holds the Samana Assembly seat and has previously served as a minister in the Punjab government, announced his departure through a social media post. Tensions had reportedly been building between Jouramajra and the party's central leadership following the AAP high command's decision to appoint former senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Surjit Singh Rakhra as in-charge of the Samana constituency.

The move was reportedly perceived by Jouramajra as a direct challenge to his authority and political standing within his own seat — a signal, critics argue, that the AAP leadership was either bypassing or side-lining him in a key constituency.

What This Means for AAP in Punjab

The resignations are the latest in a series of tremors within AAP's Punjab unit. The party, which won a historic 92 of 117 seats in the 2022 Assembly election, has faced mounting criticism over governance and internal management. Notably, the departure of a former minister like Jouramajra carries symbolic weight beyond seat arithmetic — it signals that discontent has reached the upper echelons of the state government.

This comes amid broader pressure on AAP nationally, following its electoral reverses in Delhi earlier in 2025. Losing legislators in Punjab, its only state in government, risks compounding the party's political narrative challenges heading into the next election cycle.

What Happens Next

The resignations from the Assembly, if accepted by the Punjab Speaker, would reduce AAP's strength in the House. The party's leadership is yet to issue a formal response on either exit as of Sunday. Opposition parties, including the BJP, Congress, and the Shiromani Akali Dal, are expected to seize on the development as evidence of internal collapse within the ruling dispensation. All eyes are now on whether AAP moves to consolidate its Punjab unit or faces further defections ahead of the 2027 polls.