New Delhi: Punjab is one of the five states, along with Uttar Pradesh,h set to hold assembly elections. Preparations for the Punjab assembly polls are in full swing. Even before the official commencement of the election process, the BJP has dealt a major blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, with three AAP MLAs joining the BJP on Monday. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, the MLA from Amritsar North and a former IPS officer, announced his resignation from the Punjab Legislative Assembly on Monday.
A day earlier, on Sunday, Chetan Singh Jouramajra (MLA from Samana in Patiala district) and Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra (MLA from Sanaur) had resigned from the primary membership of the AAP. Following this, all three leaders joined the BJP on Monday.
Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh submits resignation letter
Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, the MLA from the Amritsar North constituency, has sent his resignation letter to the Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Kultar Singh Sandhwan. In his resignation, he has specified that he will vacate his assembly seat effective November 1, 2026.
A former IPS officer, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Si,ngh had joined the AAP ahead of the 2022 assembly elections. For some time, he had been at odds with the Bhagwant Mann-led government and the AAP leadership, frequently questioning the functioning of the administration. On Monday, he officially joined the BJP.
Raised questions regarding investigations
AAP MLA Vijay Pratap Singh had been consistently critical of the Punjab government over the delay in securing justice in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case and the related police firing incidents. Furthermore, in January 2023, he resigned from his position as the chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Government Assurances, citing disagreements regarding the investigations.
He had also questioned the government over issues such as drug abuse, crime, extortion, and the activities of criminal gangs within the state. Furthermore, objections were raised regarding the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia and the actions taken by the Vigilance Bureau. Viewing his public statements as anti-party activities, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suspended him for five years in 2025.
Two MLAs quit the party on Sunday.
On Sunday, November 1, two MLAs from Patiala resigned from the party. These include Chetan Singh Joura, the MLA from Samana, who also served as a minister in the Bhagwant Mann-led government,t and Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, the MLA from Sanaur. Both leaders relinquished their primary membership of the AAP.
These resignations came at a time when the party had just released its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Candidates for the Samana and Sanaur constituencies were not included in this list.
