Two AAP MLAs resign from party, raise 'BJP Zindabad' slogans at BJP HQ

Two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, raised “BJP Zindabad” slogans outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, a day after they resigned from the party’s primary membership. A video shared by news agency ANI showed the two leaders at the BJP office. They are expected to formally join the BJP shortly.

Pathanmajra represents the Sanour constituency, while Jouramajra represents Samana in Punjab’s Patiala district. In their resignation, they accused the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government of failing to address the drug menace, rising state debt and governance-related concerns. The resignations came shortly after AAP released its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Neither constituency was included in that list.

AAP said it had suspended both leaders before they announced their resignations. The party said it would approach the Punjab Assembly Speaker seeking cancellation of their legislative membership, alleging anti-party activities. Resigning from a party’s primary membership does not automatically end a person’s status as an MLA. Disqualification for defection is a separate process under the anti-defection law, in which the Speaker decides and appeals can go to court. The report did not specify all the grounds cited by AAP for the suspension.

The possible induction of the two leaders drew criticism from AAP. Punjab AAP president Aman Arora accused the BJP of trying to induct leaders who had left or been expelled from other parties. AAP chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal described the BJP as a “kabaad di dukaan” (scrap shop), accusing it of collecting rejected political faces. Pathanmajra said the two leaders would join a party that worked in the interest of Punjab.

Jouramajra, a former Punjab minister, served in the Bhagwant Mann cabinet from January 2023 to September 2024. He was dropped during a cabinet reshuffle. The development comes as Punjab politics draws attention ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. AAP’s first candidate list and the resignations have focused attention on party discipline and candidate selection.

Punjab has a 117-member Assembly. AAP formed the government in 2022 after winning a majority. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly called the anti-defection law, a legislator can be disqualified if they voluntarily give up membership of their party or vote against the party whip. The Speaker’s decision is subject to judicial review. Legislative membership and party membership are distinct, and any formal change in the two MLAs’ status as legislators would depend on procedures before the Speaker and, if challenged, the courts. The report did not include an immediate public response from the BJP.

The BJP’s expected move to induct the two MLAs is being watched for its impact on the state’s political alignments. The key facts are that both MLAs have resigned from AAP’s primary membership, raised slogans at the BJP headquarters and are expected to join the BJP. AAP has said it will seek cancellation of their Assembly membership.