AAP Slams BJP for Collecting Trash After Three Ex-Leaders Join Party

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj mocked the BJP for inducting three suspended AAP leaders ahead of the 2027 Punjab polls, calling the BJP a hollow structure that lacks candidates and has a habit of collecting political trash to fill its ranks.

AAP Leaders Switch Sides Ahead of Punjab Polls

New Delhi [India], November 2 (ANI): After three suspended leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday took a swipe at the BJP, stating that it has a habit of collecting "trash." Speaking to ANI, Bharadwaj also claimed that AAP had already stated that the BJP did not have even 117 candidates to field in the elections, calling it a party of "hollow structure".

"We had already stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party doesn’t even have 117 candidates to field for the elections; the entire party is just a hollow construct. Naturally, we will not grant tickets to those whose candidacies we decide to drop—those who have received negative feedback. The BJP has always had a habit of collecting 'trash'—so, let them give tickets to these people. We have no issue with that; what is certain is that we will not be giving them tickets," Bharadwaj said.

Details of Political Defections

The remarks come after Kunwar Vijay Pratap, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who had been with AAP, joined the BJP on Monday. AAP had suspended two MLAs, Pathanmajra and Jouramajra, for alleged anti-party activities earlier. Following their suspension, both leaders resigned from the party. AAP stated it would petition the Assembly Speaker to disqualify their legislative membership. Meanwhile, Kunwar Vijay Pratap announced his resignation from the Punjab Legislative Assembly on Monday. He was suspended from AAP on June 29, 2025.

BJP Perspectives on Punjab Governance

Speaking to ANI after joining BJP, Jouramajra said some MLAs who have already received tickets from AAP might relinquish them and join the BJP, attacking the ruling AAP government in Punjab over law and order. "As for the MLAs who have already received tickets, we expect that some of them might actually relinquish those tickets and join the BJP. The situation in Punjab is far from good; the people there are deeply distressed. Issues like drug abuse, the rise of gangs, and frequent incidents of snatching... Therefore, if we want to put an end to all these problems in Punjab, it is essential that a BJP government comes to power in the state," he said.

Pathanmajra said the BJP would form the government in the upcoming elections. "People truly desire this. Once a few key issues are resolved, everyone will be ready to align themselves with the BJP," he said. Urging others to join the party, he said the BJP was "the only party capable of resolving the issues facing Punjab," including debt, drugs and gangsterism. He pointed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's promise to eradicate the drug problem, saying, "He ensures that everything he promises is actually carried out."

"Given the massive debt accumulated by other parties, Punjab cannot survive without support from the Centre. Everyone will eventually come to BJP," Pathanmajra said. Kunwar Vijay Pratap launched a scathing attack on his former party immediately after joining the BJP. Singh said that AAP's political presence in the state has reached its end. "In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party is finished—Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann have brought about its collapse themselves. For all practical purposes, AAP no longer exists," Singh told ANI, expressing confidence that a "double-engine government" will soon be formed in Punjab. (ANI)

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