As mistrust runs high, intel sleuths keep a tab on whereabouts of AAP MLAs

According to MLAs contacted by The Sunday Express, the mistrust deepened after Raghav Chadha allegedly claimed that he was in touch with 63 AAP legislators — two-third of the total 94 — in Punjab. “His claim has made us feel vulnerable. We do not know what will happen next,” said one of them.

Chadha, along with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Friday announced that they were quitting the AAP and joining the BJP along with five other MPs. Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sahney were the other AAP MPs they named. Chadha, citing Constitutional norms, had said the seven MPs had “merged with the BJP”.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who on Saturday sought time from President Droupadi Murmu to seek the “recall” of Rajya Sabha members who joined the BJP, announced that he would take the party MLAs along to the Rashtrapti Bhavan seek a recall of the defected MPs.

“We have not received any communication from the Chief Minister’s office on this issue yet. We do not know when he is planning this. Otherwise too, there are no confidence-building measures underway. We are just talking among ourselves,” said another MLA.

Party sources, however, said internal calculations were already underway regarding the numbers required for any potential split. “The Vidhan Sabha has 117 members, of which AAP has 94. For a split, two-thirds of 94 would be needed — around 63 MLAs. I doubt Chadha is in touch with that many. I know of about 12–13 who are considered close to him in Punjab,” said a source.

Iqbal Singh, a former AAP spokesperson who is no more with the party, said, “There are many MLAs who were given tickets by Raghav Chadha. He also appointed several leaders from outside as chairpersons. He may be able to influence some of them, but I doubt he can bring down the government. What is happening is also a result of AAP neglecting its volunteers. Many people sacrificed their homes, money, and resources to establish the party in Punjab, but they were ignored. The party gradually became dominated by the rich and industrialists.”

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan dismissed any threat to the government. “The AAP government faces no danger in Punjab. The BJP may claim anything. It is nothing but ‘Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne’. The BJP is a party of empty rhetoric,” he said.

This is not the first time that claims have surfaced about AAP MLAs being in touch with rival parties. Earlier, a senior Punjab Congress leader had claimed that at least 33 AAP MLAs were in contact with him.

Subsequently, Janata Party leader Navneet Chaturvedi filed his nomination for the bypoll to the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by Sanjeev Arora, claiming support from AAP MLAs. He was later booked for allegedly forging their signatures. At that time too, AAP leadership had been caught off guard.

On Friday, the party is learnt to have asked all its MLAs to post messages condemning Chadha and other defectors on social media. Soon after, posts from multiple MLAs flooded social media platforms. The party also organised protests outside the residences of cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Ashok Mittal in Jalandhar, and Rajinder Gupta in Ludhiana, where party workers spray-painted “gaddar” (traitor) on the walls.

In Jalandhar, senior AAP leader Pawan Kumar Tinu said, “The AAP government will return to power in Punjab in 2027, and the BJP will have no political ground left to stand on. Out of frustration, the BJP has resorted to poaching AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs by hook or by crook. The Congress, BJP, and Akali Dal have formed an unholy alliance against AAP, which is why their leaders are making similar claims about AAP MLAs defecting.”

AAP Punjab Youth Wing acting president Parminder Goldy led a protest outside Rajinder Gupta’s residence, where party workers raised slogans of “Punjab de gaddar murdabad.” He said, “The people of Punjab will never forgive this betrayal of trust. The BJP is unsettled by Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of development and governance and is trying to destabilise AAP through conspiracies. However, these attempts will fail because every AAP worker stands firmly with the party leadership and its vision.”