Punjab politics heats up: Congress's Bajwa claims 32 AAP MLAs in touch, AAP hits back with 'advanced booking with BJP' jibe

NEW DELHI: Punjab Congress leader

Partap Singh Bajwa

stirred a political storm on Monday by claiming that 32 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, including ministers, are in contact with him, expressing interest in switching sides. Bajwa’s statement, made outside the Punjab Assembly, sparked sharp reactions from AAP, with state unit president Aman Arora countering that it was Bajwa who had made an “advance booking” to join the BJP.
Bajwa, the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, further alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann himself was in touch with the BJP. “When (Arvind) Kejriwal decides to remove him, he (Mann) will pack his bags and join them (BJP),” he claimed.
Drawing from his 45 years of political experience, Bajwa insisted he was not making baseless statements. “We earlier said the Congress has no intention to topple this government. But I can confirm that 32 MLAs and even ministers are in touch with me. Aman Arora knows this too,” he alleged.
He added that many AAP MLAs were disillusioned, believing this to be their last term in office and were seeking alternative parties for future electoral prospects. “We will decide who to bring in and who has the potential to win. It will happen at the right time,” Bajwa added.

Bajwa also criticised CM Mann for being absent on the first day of the two-day assembly session, calling it disrespectful to the House.
AAP retaliates: ‘Bajwa has booked his seat with BJP’
In a strong rebuttal, cabinet minister Aman Arora dismissed Bajwa’s claims as “frivolous” and accused him of plotting to join the BJP. “Bajwa Ji’s joining the BJP is almost certain. He has already made his advance booking,” Arora said in a post on X.
Arora further alleged that Bajwa recently traveled to Bengaluru to meet senior BJP leaders, urging Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to question Bajwa about his visit. “His script is written in BJP’s offices, much like his brother who has already joined the BJP,” Arora claimed.
Calling Bajwa’s allegations “baseless” and “laughable”, Arora accused him of spreading misinformation. “Bajwa doesn’t even know the whereabouts of his own MLAs. He lost Sandeep Jakhar to the BJP and now talks about destabilising our government. His statements lack any credibility,” he said.
Arora also dismissed Bajwa’s claims of toppling the AAP government as “delusional.” “We have 94 MLAs. Even if Bajwa’s imaginary 32 MLAs left, we would still have 62 MLAs—a clear majority. Meanwhile, the Congress has only 15 MLAs. Even if they added 32 more, they still couldn’t form the government,” he said.