punjab-aap-crisis-2-mlas-resign-after-first-candidate-list

Two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, have resigned from the Punjab Assembly shortly after the party announced its first list of candidates for the 2027 state elections.

 

Pathanmajra represents Sanaur, while Jouramajra is the MLA from Samana. Their resignations have intensified political activity within the ruling party, coming a day after AAP released a list of 40 candidates.

 

Pathanmajra had been involved in a prolonged dispute with the party leadership over several matters, including the government's handling of floods and criminal cases subsequently registered against him.

 

Jouramajra's resignation has also brought renewed attention to dissatisfaction within the party. The former Punjab minister's position in Samana had come under scrutiny after former Shiromani Akali Dal leader Surjit Singh Rakhra joined AAP in May this year and was assigned a significant role in managing the party's affairs in the constituency. The move was widely viewed as reducing the influence of the sitting MLA.

 

AAP's first candidate list re-nominated 40 MLAs, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann once again set to contest from Dhuri. Jailed Cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora has been fielded from Ludhiana West. No other Cabinet minister was included in the first list.

 

AAP is the first major political party to announce its candidates for the polls, which are due early next year. The list was declared in Delhi by Mann after a meeting of the party's Political Affairs Committee.

 

Mann, a first-time MLA and two-time MP, said the early announcement reflected the party's preparations, transparency and confidence in the work carried out by the government.

 

Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, a two-time MLA, has been nominated from Kotkapura. The Deputy Speaker will contest from the Garhshankar Assembly constituency.

 

Four women legislators have also been re-nominated from their respective seats: Baljinder Kaur from Talwandi Sabo, Inderjit Kaur Mann from Nakodar, Santosh Kataria from Balachaur and Amandeep Kaur Arora from Moga.