More Exodus Soon? AAP's Show Of Strength Meet Falters As Around 30 Punjab MLAs Stay Away

Last Updated:April 30, 2026, 10:01 IST

A low turnout at the meeting has triggered fresh speculation about internal discontent and the possibility of more leaders switching sides ahead of the 2027 Punjab election.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is facing an “existential crisis" following the defection of seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), convened a meeting of its Punjab MLAs in an attempt to project unity and strength.

However, the show of cohesion appeared weakened. Of the party’s 94 MLAs in Punjab, around 65 attended the meeting held at a private university in Jalandhar, while the remaining legislators stayed away, Tribune reported.

The relatively low turnout at the meeting has triggered fresh speculation about internal discontent within the party’s state unit and the possibility of more leaders switching sides ahead of the 2027 Punjab election.

AAP Punjab chief Aman Arora, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Deputy Speaker Jai Krishan Singh Rouri, ministers Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Mohinder Bhagat, among others attended the crucial meeting, which the party described as “routine".  Prominent ministers, including Sanjeev Arora and Harjot Singh Bains, were missing.

Raj Kumar Chabbewal, the Member of Parliament from Hoshiarpur, attended the meeting of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs in Punjab. However, Malwinder Singh Kang and Gurmeet Singh were among those who did not participate.

AAP’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia said that if the party continues to stand together, it could “hit a century," signalling confidence in unity and organisational strength.

In addition to MLAs, around 1,000 AAP block observers also attended the meeting, underscoring the party’s effort to mobilise its grassroots network.

AAP Exodus

AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Dr Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta quit the AAP last week and joined the BJP.

Moreover, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader has recently claimed that two out of three Lok Sabha MPs of the AAP may leave the party.

After the defection of AAP MPs, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring has said that 50 legislators may desert the ruling party in Punjab.

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