Major Setback for AAP in Punjab: Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra Join BJP

In a significant political development ahead of the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, three legislators of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marking a major setback for the ruling party in Punjab.
 

The three legislators are Chetan Singh Jouramajra, representing Samana; Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, the MLA from Sanour; and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who represents Amritsar North.
 

While Jouramajra and Pathanmajra resigned from AAP's primary membership on Sunday, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh announced his departure from the party on Monday. He also submitted his resignation as a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
 

All three leaders formally joined the BJP at the party's headquarters in Delhi on Monday. BJP Punjab in-charge Satish Poonia and Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon welcomed them into the party. Jouramajra and Pathanmajra were seen wearing saffron-coloured turbans during the joining ceremony, which were earlier traditionally associated with a yellow shade.
 

According to political sources, the two legislators, Jouramajra and Pathanmajra, joined the BJP without placing any political conditions. The BJP has also reportedly decided not to make their induction conditional on receiving party tickets in the next Assembly elections.
 

Sources further indicated that the BJP's central leadership has instructed its Punjab unit to induct only those political leaders whose public image is not tarnished.
 

Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra's Political Background
 

Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, the MLA from Sanour, was considered close to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's family and was popularly known as 'Fuffad' in political circles.
 

He won the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections from Sanour as an AAP candidate, defeating his rivals by a margin of 49,122 votes.
 

However, his political journey was also marked by legal controversies. In September 2025, Punjab Police registered a rape case against him following a complaint by his former wife. He was arrested near Gwalior in March and subsequently granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He is also facing a separate case related to illegal mining in Patiala district.
 

Why Chetan Singh Jouramajra Left AAP
 

Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who represents the Samana Assembly constituency, had reportedly been unhappy with the party since it appointed former minister Surjit Singh Rakhra as the constituency in-charge.
 

Jouramajra served as a Cabinet minister in the AAP government and handled important portfolios, including Health, Horticulture, and Information and Public Relations.
 

In the 2022 Assembly elections, he defeated Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Surjit Singh Rakhra by a margin of 39,713 votes to win the Samana seat.
 

During his tenure as Health Minister, Jouramajra became embroiled in controversy following an incident at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot. During an inspection of the hospital's facilities, he asked Vice-Chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur to lie down on a dirty mattress, triggering widespread criticism.
 

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh Resigns as MLA and Quits AAP
 

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, the MLA from Amritsar North, also resigned from the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He submitted his resignation to the Speaker before announcing his decision to leave AAP's primary membership.
 

It is worth noting that AAP had already expelled him from the party over allegations of anti-party activities.
 

In June last year, the party suspended him for five years after he questioned the Punjab Vigilance Bureau's action against Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who had been arrested in a disproportionate assets case.
 

Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh had repeatedly criticised the AAP government over several issues, particularly its handling of the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases in Faridkot.
 

He was part of the Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) that investigated the 2015 Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents. He had repeatedly raised the issue of the sacrilege cases in the Punjab Assembly and demanded justice for the victims.
 

After taking premature retirement from the police service in 2021, he joined the Aam Aadmi Party. He subsequently contested the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections and won the Amritsar North constituency.
 

The induction of the three AAP legislators into the BJP comes at a politically significant time, with Punjab preparing for its next Assembly elections. Their departure is expected to have an impact on the state's political landscape and the electoral calculations of both parties.