📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Gurvinder Singh brar GSB
Politics
Two Punjab AAP MLAs resign, set to join BJP ahead of state polls
✍️ Hindustan Times
🗓 02 Nov 2026, 10:33 AM
👁 10
Two sitting members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly have quit the Aam Aadmi Party and announced they will join the Bharatiya Janata Party today, just weeks before the state elections.
Two Punjab legislators affiliated with the Aam Aadmi Party submitted their resignations on Monday, formally ending their association with the party. Both MLAs have publicly declared that they will become members of the Bharatiya Janata Party later in the day, marking a rare mid‑term party switch ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections.
The move comes at a critical juncture, with the Punjab polls scheduled for early 2025. Analysts note that defections of sitting legislators can influence voter sentiment and alter the arithmetic of party strengths in the assembly, though the exact impact remains uncertain.
Neither the resigning MLAs nor party officials provided detailed explanations for the shift, citing only a desire to align with the BJP's development agenda. The AAP leadership has yet to comment on the resignations, while the BJP welcomed the newcomers in a brief statement, emphasizing the party's growing appeal in the state.
Election authorities have recorded the resignations, and the two seats will remain vacant until the next electoral contest, unless by‑elections are called. The episode underscores the fluid nature of Punjab's political landscape as parties vie for voter support ahead of the decisive poll.
The move comes at a critical juncture, with the Punjab polls scheduled for early 2025. Analysts note that defections of sitting legislators can influence voter sentiment and alter the arithmetic of party strengths in the assembly, though the exact impact remains uncertain.
Neither the resigning MLAs nor party officials provided detailed explanations for the shift, citing only a desire to align with the BJP's development agenda. The AAP leadership has yet to comment on the resignations, while the BJP welcomed the newcomers in a brief statement, emphasizing the party's growing appeal in the state.
Election authorities have recorded the resignations, and the two seats will remain vacant until the next electoral contest, unless by‑elections are called. The episode underscores the fluid nature of Punjab's political landscape as parties vie for voter support ahead of the decisive poll.