3 Rebel AAP Leaders Join BJP Ahead Of Punjab Polls, Chant 'BJP Zindabad' At Delhi HQ

Punjab's political landscape saw a fresh development on Monday as three rebel AAP leaders, joined the BJP ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, dealing a jolt to the Bhagwant Mann-led government in the state. The three leaders who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra.

They formally joined the BJP at an event held at the party's national headquarters in Delhi. BJP Punjab in-charge Satish Poonia, co-in-charge Virendra Sachdeva, and other senior party leaders were present during the joining ceremony.

The development comes after AAP suspended Pathanmajra and Jouramajra over alleged anti-party activities. Both leaders subsequently resigned from the party. AAP had said it would approach the Punjab Assembly Speaker seeking their disqualification as MLAs.

Meanwhile, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh announced his resignation from the Punjab Legislative Assembly earlier today. He had been suspended from AAP on June 29, 2025. Ahead of joining the saffron party, the three rebel AAP MLAs arrived at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, where they were seen raising slogans of 'BJP Zindabad'.

In an X post addressed to the people of Amritsar, Singh said he would remain indebted to them "until my last breath" for the affection and respect they had shown him. He urged people to work together to move beyond what he described as "the politics of lanes and ribbon-cutting" and restore Punjab's standing as a progressive state.

Describing the challenges facing the state, Singh said Punjab was "trapped by drugs, extortion, gangsterism and corruption". "Working together with you to formulate a forward strategy, I will aim to ensure clean politics and transparent administration," Singh said.

He added, "My sole purpose is 'Punjab First.' Apart from this, I will have no personal interests." AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj on two MLAs quitting the party ahead of Punjab polls, said that the BJP is collecting its "leftovers".

He claimed that the BJP does not have candidates to field in the Punjab polls, adding "they can give tickets to MLAs discarded by AAP". AAP announced its first list of 40 candidates on Saturday. The list includes Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri, Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura and jailed minister Sanjeev Arora from Ludhiana West.

Other ministers named in the list include Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Ajnala, Balkar Singh from Kartarpur, Jai Krishan Singh Rouri from Garhshankar, Kulwant Singh from S A S Nagar and Labh Singh Ugoke from Bhadaur. Three rebel AAP leaders joined the BJP: Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra.

This move took place ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections in Punjab. Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra were suspended for anti-party activities and then resigned. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh was suspended earlier and resigned from the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj stated BJP is 'collecting leftovers' and lacks its own candidates for Punjab polls. He claimed BJP is giving tickets to MLAs discarded by AAP. AAP announced it would approach the Punjab Assembly Speaker to seek disqualification of Pathanmajra and Jouramajra.

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh had already resigned from the Legislative Assembly.