AAP Faces Internal Dissent After Dropping Sitting MLAs from Punjab Election Candidate List

CHANDIGARH: There is growing internal dissent in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after seven sitting MLAs, including a cabinet minister and two former ministers, were dropped from its second list of 31 candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, released on Thursday. The decision has triggered resentment among several leaders, with some questioning the party leadership’s choices and others threatening to quit. AAP MLA from Chamkaur Sahib seat Charanjit Singh expressed his resentment over the party's move to ignore him and asserted that he will contest the poll at any cost. He had emerged as a giant slayer after he defeated former Punjab chief minister and senior Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi by a margin of over 7,900 votes from the seat in the 2022 Assembly elections. In its second list of candidates, the Aam Aadmi Party named Jasvir Singh Garhi, the former Punjab BSP president and former chairman of the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission, as the party's candidate from the Assembly constituency. Garhi was appointed AAP's halqa in-charge (constituency in-charge) for Chamkaur Sahib in August. After being replaced, Charanjit Singh said he had done his job honestly and brought many projects for the people of his Assembly constituency. He also questioned the party's choice of Garhi over him, expressing doubt over his ability to register victory from Chamkaur Sahib.