New Delhi [India], November 2 (ANI): Chetan Singh Jouramajra and Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, leaders who had been with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections. They expressed confidence that the BJP would form government in the upcoming polls.
Speaking to ANI after joining, Jouramajra said some MLAs who have already received tickets from AAP might relinquish them and join the BJP, attacking the ruling AAP government in Punjab over law and order.
"As for the MLAs who have already received tickets, we expect that some of them might actually relinquish those tickets and join the BJP. The situation in Punjab is far from good; the people there are deeply distressed. Issues like drug abuse, the rise of gangs, and frequent incidents of snatching... Therefore, if we want to put an end to all these problems in Punjab, it is essential that a BJP government comes to power in the state," he said.
Pathanmajra said the BJP would form the government in the upcoming elections. "People truly desire this. Once a few key issues are resolved, everyone will be ready to align themselves with the BJP," he said.
Urging others to join the party, he said the BJP was "the only party capable of resolving the issues facing Punjab," including debt, drugs and gangsterism. He pointed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's promise to eradicate the drug problem, saying, "He ensures that everything he promises is actually carried out."
"Given the massive debt accumulated by other parties, Punjab cannot survive without support from the Centre. Everyone will eventually come to BJP," Pathanmajra said.
Kunwar Vijay Pratap, who also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, hours after resigning from the Punjab Legislative Assembly, launched a scathing attack on his former party immediately after joining the BJP. Singh said that AAP's political presence in the state has reached its end.
"In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party is finished—Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann have brought about its collapse themselves. For all practical purposes, AAP no longer exists," Singh told ANI, expressing confidence that a "double-engine government" will soon be formed in Punjab.
The development comes ahead of the high-stakes 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. In the 2022 polls, AAP won 92 of the state's 117 seats, while the Congress secured 18. (ANI)
Rebel leaders attack AAP after joining BJP; Jouramajra claim more ticket holders will follow
